Italian Crackdown: Syrian-Led Drug Money Laundering Network Exposed

In a significant crackdown, Italian prosecutors announced the disruption of a sophisticated Syrian-led network accused of laundering proceeds from drug trafficking in Italy and France. The modus operandi involved converting cash into gold bars, with the Guardia di Finanza police detaining five suspects in the northern areas of Piedmont and Lombardy, successfully seizing €17 million in the process.

The investigation was a collaborative affair, involving Italy's tax police, the French national gendarmerie in Marseille, and coordination from the Italian national anti-mafia directorate and the Marseille prosecutor's office, alongside Eurojust and Europol. Over a course of 10 months, the group allegedly collected more than €17 million in drug money, primarily in France, and cleverly transported the cash in hidden compartments of vehicles to Alessandria, a location in the Piedmont region close to the French border.

Once in Piedmont, the cash was allegedly converted to gold bars and sheets by three complicit precious-metal smelting businesses in Piedmont and Lombardy. The gold was then transferred to locations like Kosovo, North Macedonia, Turkey, and Morocco. The investigative team marked this as the first instance they could completely trace the drug money's conversion to gold, emphasizing the widespread involvement of Syrian nationals.

(With inputs from agencies.)