https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...anti-e-pizzerie-dalla-ndrina-di-cariati/

boreas
'Ndrangheta in Germany, the “made in Italy” food imported and imposed on restaurants and pizzerias by the 'ndrina of Cariati
The investigation by the District Anti-Mafia Commission has revealed the business carried out by Greco and Talarico "through front men and VAT evasion"
Published: 01/04/2025 – 14:03

LAMEZIA TERME For some restaurateurs in Germany, using Italian ingredients was not a choice, but an imposition . A strategy that did not respond to the laws of the market and the German passion for “made in Italy” but to the obligations of some members of the 'ndrangheta who had long since put down roots in the Baden-Württemberg region .
Wine, oil, cheeses and dairy products in general. And then hams and sausages, tomato sauce and other products for the preparation and packaging of pizza: these were the products that were imported into Germany in particular by the Cariati group. This is what investigators from the Catanzaro Anti-Mafia District reconstructed during the “Boreas” operation which, this morning, led to the arrest of 29 individuals between Calabria and Germany. Twenty in Italy alone, 13 of whom ended up in prison and 7 under house arrest.

Giorgio Greco's group
The members of the Cariati 'ndrina, led by Giorgio Greco (class of '64) who ended up in prison today , would therefore have been involved in importing, distributing and marketing Italian food products in Germany . But not only that: from some wiretaps, investigators are convinced, some members would also have spoken of the marketing of car tires. According to the investigative findings, the distribution of the products in German territory was carried out under the instructions of Raffaele Talarico (class of '60) who was also arrested - at least until the end of August 2021 - that is, until Talarico left Germany to move to Modena, "moving away from the direct management, on site, of the activities in German territory" and from a small group of people, of which, over time, among others, Fiorenzo Santoro, Gaetano Roberto Bruzzese and Cataldo Scilanga, all three ended up in prison, were part.


'Ndrangheta, Stuttgart under siege by the 'ndrina of Cariati between extortion and intimidation
The imposition on restaurateurs
According to the investigations, the once important food products «were marketed both through the warehouse at Falkenstraße 12 in Fellbach, and through direct distribution to restaurants and pizzerias in the area». In this case, the investigations would have shown how «the purchase of the goods, in some circumstances, was in fact imposed on restaurateurs who did not choose to do so voluntarily», leveraging the intimidating power deriving from the membership of the “proponents” to organised crime, «with respect for strict territorial jurisdiction, evidently the result of agreements with similar criminal organisations». The goods were shipped on board some vans while for the purchase of the goods to be distributed, the man from Cariati would have used the company attributable to Fiorenzo Santoro, but also other companies registered to other “front men” with no criminal record or with continuous changes of company presumably «functional to avoiding the consequences of the tax crimes committed such as VAT evasion».

“Faceplate” companies and VAT evasion
According to the prosecution, some wiretaps revealed the fraudulent methods of "purchasing and managing the products" by Talarico through VAT evasion at Santoro's company. "(...) he has one thousand euros left... one thousand five hundred euros clean and he puts them in his pocket", Fiorenzo himself tells Roberto Bruzzese while the two, on 9 April 2021, were on board the Fiat Ducato used by the group. During the continuation of the conversation - the DDA investigators observe - the two would have gone into even more detail, explaining how the Fellbach group, managed by Raffaele Talarico, "to make ends meet and avoid paying VAT on the products marketed, operated using two companies, one of which was in Santoro's name". The two, Greco and Talarico, according to the accusation, would have availed themselves of the work of, among others, Antonello Zavattini, former driver of "uncle Raffaele" and factotum of the organization, and Antonino Perone known as "the accountant", who «were participants in the illicit affairs of the association and well aware of the criminal role of the aforementioned as leaders of the 'ndrina of Cariati». ( g.curcio@corrierecal.it )

Raids and arrests in anti-mafia operation in Italy and Germany

A total of 29 arrests have been made in Italy and Germany in a major operation against the mafia. Most of the detainees were rounded up in Italy, the Italian police reported.

The suspects were arrested this morning in various regions of Italy. They are believed to have ties to the 'ndrangheta, the mafia that originated in Calabria.

In Germany, arrests and raids have been made in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland.

According to German media, hundreds of police officers were involved in the operation. The Italian news agency ANSA reports that lawyers and accountants are among the detainees.

In Germany, a police officer was arrested, the public prosecutor's office and the police in Waiblingen announced. The arrested officer is a member of the Baden-Württemberg police and is said to have supported the Calabrian mafia 'Ndrangheta. An arrest warrant has been issued for the 46-year-old man for betrayal of secrets.

The 'ndrangheta is one of the largest and most powerful mafia organizations in Italy, with contacts and activities all over the world. The mafia earns its money mainly from the drug trade, especially cocaine. The 'Ndrangheta is known to have worldwide branches. It is seen as more dangerous than the Sicilian Cosa Nostra or the Camorra from Naples.

The operation follows a joint investigation by German and Italian authorities. Mafia organizations are said to use the German state of Baden-Württemberg as a refuge and also carry out criminal activities there. According to the latest information from the German Ministry of the Interior, around 170 people involved in organized crime live in the state, but according to experts the actual number is much higher.

According to the ministry, the gang members are active in a broad spectrum of crimes, from fraudulent food trade, drug trafficking, weapons offenses and money laundering to tax fraud.

Tuesday's raids, according to Italian police, also come after information from Interpol's I-CAN project. Thanks to I-CAN, Interpol Cooperation Against 'Ndrangheta in full, more than a hundred suspects have been arrested since 2020. Twenty countries are participating, with Germany and Italy being particularly involved.

https://www.dw.com/en/german-policeman-held-over-gourmet-food-scam-in-mafia-raid/a-72106390

German policeman held over gourmet food scam in Mafia raids

https://www.lacnews24.it/cronaca/sc...lle-corna-fatto-da-un-picciotto-cz9bfj1p

Clash in the shadow of the 'ndrangheta rules between the Cirò and Cariati clans over the horns gesture made by a picciotto

https://www.lacnews24.it/cronaca/ma...-tecnici-colombiani-in-calabria-wvd4v7c9

Major drug trafficking in Brescia, the role of the 'ndrangheta and the clandestine refinery with Colombian technicians in Calabria – NOMI

https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...e-ai-per-analizzare-relazioni-criminali/

cybercrime
The fight against the 'ndrangheta moves to the web. «The cross-referencing of data through AI to analyze criminal relationships»
Prosecutor Giovanni Bombardieri: «Beware of “hallucinations”, artificial intelligence can return false data»
Published: 03/04/2025 – 7:00

RENDE The Turin prosecutor, Giovanni Bombardieri , returns – for a day – to Calabria and participates in an event organized in synergy between the University of Calabria and the Guardia di Finanza to study the techniques of using Artificial Intelligence and support the training of those who are called upon to face the army of evil on a daily basis.
The fight against crime has moved to the web, the network hides dangerous and profitable frauds (for those who carry them out), disguised investments, fictitious sales, but drug dealing also runs on social media and the deep web. In short, a world parallel to the real one “governed” by unwritten rules and which allows a substantial freedom of maneuver that makes the task of investigators engaged in intercepting the intentions and criminal plans of the scoundrels difficult. As is usual, where money moves, the tentacles of the 'ndrangheta arrive : in step with technological evolutions and able to exploit them to launder dirty money or to swell the army of hackers at its disposal. On this point, the position of the former prosecutor of the DDA of Reggio Calabria is clear: « The important thing is to govern artificial intelligence ».

«Ai-based data cross-referencing to analyze criminal relationships»
" Criminal organizations use artificial intelligence for a whole series of crimes, in cybercrime, in money laundering and in the fractioning of financial flows, even in the processing of data for drug trafficking routes ," says Bombardieri. This is why the use of AI becomes necessary already during the investigation phase. "It is a very important investigative tool because it allows us to process and process a quantity of data that would otherwise take years. In Turin, for example, we have a protocol with the National Interuniversity Consortium for Computer Science to verify how to apply artificial intelligence in a useful way within a criminal proceeding."
The project is in its infancy. "This is obviously an experimental moment, so we are talking about already public proceedings that bring together investigative data with data from open sources and this allows us to evaluate all the possible relationships that may exist between subjects, between facts that can be traced back to criminal events. This is a great opportunity for use ."
There is a danger that is difficult, at least for the moment, to contain. "These are the so-called " hallucinations ", that is, the possibility that artificial intelligence offers false data, data that does not correspond to the truth, even in the creation of connections between people. But this does not mean that it should not be used but that it should be governed through a human verification of all the results of the processing". Therefore, a careful examination of the data processing system is needed and consequently a constant and daily commitment to training. " It is an open world that requires the attention and interinstitutional cooperation of all the bodies that deal with this sector ". (f.benincasa@corrierecal.it)