AMCostaRica©

Archive File
Published Thursday, January 31, 2019         -First top story
Calendar
Tourism
Classifieds
Real Estate
Lifestyle
Food
About Us
                               AMCostaRica©
Cocal021518.gif

                              AMCostaRica©
Cielo111218.gif

...


Italian agents seized 644 kilos
of cocaine in cargo from Costa Rica


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The report of the Agents of the Finance Police (Guardia di Finanza) and agents of the Customs Agency (Agenzia delle Dogane) of the port of Livorno* in Tuscany, Italy, states that cargo transshipped from the port of Moín* in Limón was seized and found to contain 644 kilos of cocaine.

The agents report that the seizure, which occurred on January 15, was "the most important cargo in the last ten years."

"This container was investigated because it had been loaded from a country in Central America which increases the level of suspicion of loading,” said Italians agents.

The investigation shows that the container left Puerto Cortés* in Honduras with cargo of coffee beans, was transshipped in Puerto Moín* in Limón, and was supposed to continue to the Port of Barcelona in Spain. However, the container was diverted to the port of Algeciras* in Spain and then sent to the port of Livorno* in Tuscany, Italy.

"The container was sent by a Honduran coffee producer and embarked in Puerto Cortes (Honduras) and then transshipped to another ship in the port of Moín (Costa Rica), destined for disembarkation in the port of Barcelona, from where would have to be picked up by a company in Madrid, but the person responsible for removing the shipment never arrived, " said the agents report.

With the authorization of officers of the Central Directorate of Anti-Drug Services and the Department of General Command of Italy, the container was inspected and 644 kilos of cocaine were found hidden in bags among the bags of coffee.

"The shipment contained 644 kilograms of cocaine, divided into 582 packages that were hidden in 23 bags, and these black bags were also hidden among some of the coffee bean bags," said the anti-drug agents.

This is not the first time a shipment of cocaine has been found in Italy and linked to Costa Rica.

In November 2018, as reported by AM Costa Rica, the Italian police seized a shipment of 245 kilos of cocaine.

The Italian police raided an export company in Milan*, seized 219 kilograms of cocaine and arrested 29 people, including a man surnamed Ponzo, father of the 36-year-old man killed in Costa Rica in May 2018.

According to the Italian police report, this important operation made it possible to define the context in which an entrepreneur businessman surnamed Ponzo was killed outside the Italian embassy* in San José, in May 2018. At the time of his death, Ponzo, aged 36, was the owner of the export company in Costa Rica.

The police have dismantled two apparently criminal organizations involved in international drug trafficking. They arrested 29 people, mainly Italian although two were living in Barcelona*, Spain, three Maghrebians and one Albanian.

They also seized 215 kilograms of cocaine at the port of Livorno, Italy. The men are suspected of being part of two criminal organizations, one aimed at the international trafficking of cocaine and the other at storage of the drug in Piazza, Italy.

The investigation began with the street distribution of the drug in Milan and was traced back to the suppliers. Police then identified the criminal organization that imported the drug from Costa Rica thus breaking the entire organization, from import to distribution, said the report.

The initial investigation focused on a criminal group headed by three brothers and originating in the province of Reggio* Calabria. Police found that the group was composed of suspects bound by kinship ties.

They used an "entrepreneurial" type structure and managed two distinct "cocaine" shopping plazas which they controlled as monopolies.  These guaranteed cocaine users “uninterrupted service” seven days a week, including holidays. Operations were carried out in the Bonola district of Milan and an area adjacent to the town of Robbio, a small town in the province of Pavia with just over 5,000 inhabitants.


Italia013119.jpg
Guardia di Finanza Livorno courtesy photo

The container was inspected and 644 kilos of cocaine
were found hidden in bags among the bags of coffee.




According to Italian police, the criminal organization has been virtually dismantled by the series of arrests of both street level pushers and suppliers. The early operations resulted in nine arrests and the seizure of four kilograms of cocaine.

One of the most important people in any criminal organization is the mass supplier responsible for importing large quantities from South America. The investigation alleges that two Italians residing in Spain, identified as Ponzo and Cademartori, were owners of a  company were responsible for the importation of the drug from Latin America along with Italian man also surnamed Ponzo, the father of the man killed in Costa Rica.

On March 2018, at the Darsena Toscana Ovest dock in the port area of Livorno, the investigation against Ponzo and Cademartori led to the seizure of a total of 215 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside some pineapple cases carried in two different containers.

The Livorno Customs Office took part in the seizure.

On May 2018, Ponzo (the son) was shot and killed while he and his partner were near the Italian embassy in Costa Rica. The investigation made it possible to ascertain that there were least two other imports of a narcotic substance, of an unspecified quantity, from October 2017 to March 2018. One of those imports was probably successful.

During the investigation, numerous searches were carried out both of direct suspects and of people connected to them in various ways.

Investigator stated that a man already being held is considered one of the leaders of the "Cursoti milanesi" clan. Police report that he already had arrests for criminal association, associations for drug trafficking, is alleged to have committed multiple homicides, robbery, and dealing in stolen goods. He was found in possession of about 28 kilograms of hashish, about 1.7 kilograms of cocaine, two clandestine guns, a short weapon silencer and 18 cartridges.

In total, the overall investigative activity involved the seizure of approximately 219 kilograms of cocaine (of which 215 were seized at the port of Livorno in two containers) and a weapon.
 
This report was made by Polizia di Stato one of the national police forces of Italy. It is the main police force for providing police duties and it is also responsible for highway patrol, railways, airports, customs (together with the Guardia di Finanza) as well as certain waterways, and assisting the local police forces.




---------
Should the customs police be more thorough with their inspections when containers are transshipped through Costa Rica? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com

*Reach the place on google maps.

Facebook110217.jpg twitter110217.jpg
Subscribe110217.jpg





   AMCostaRica©
AcademySale112218.gif



AMCostaRica©

Residency090418.gif



   AMCostaRica©
ARCR030818.gif




 AMCostaRica©
HOtel and resstaurant directory



Opinion103117.gif

Want to write or gripe
about Costa Rica?

Want to submit an event
to our calendar?

Send all the information news@amcostarica.com

Profile pictures are welcome too !

-No defamatory pieces will be accepted.
-We reserve the right to publish.