A harbor in Calabria, a poor province in Italy, has become known for the enormous quantities of drugs that are being trafficking by the syndicate of crime. “The harbor, Joyce Tauro, was born with the original sin”, said the investigator Roberto Di Palma in an interview at Al Jazeera.
The original sin is nothing more than Ndrangheta, the most vicious criminal organization worldwide, with more power and influence even than the Sicily Mafia (which is actually the original mafia).
The coastal road to the harbor goes through abandoned warehouses and farmlands. Besides in Calabria, the income from illegal activities is more than the income from the legal economy. Joyce Tauro is used as a middle station. Each year 3.6 million crates arrive. They so many that nor the companies neither the 25 police officers of the area can control the situation.
According to the data that surfaced to the public view from the DIA, the Italian authority for organized crime cases, between the years 2011 and 201, 5.5 tons of cocaine were confiscated. This means that at least 50 more tons of the white drug were illegally transported through the harbor. Vincenzo Caruso, the head of security of the harbor and lieutenant colonel of the financial police, mentions that the cocaine that reaches the harbor is usually clean by 90%, which means that it can be “cut” even 4 times before it ends up in the market. The estimated market value of the cocaine that has gone through Joyce Tauro reaches the amount of 30-35 million euros.
According to the Italian police, Ndrangheta controls 60-80% of the European cocaine market. Annually, the drugs market and the weapons trafficking bring approximately 56 billion dollars to the organization’s pockets.
The new technique that they use is called “rip-off” which is the ultimate deceiving trick and is being mentioned in the book “Oro Bianco”. This book was written by Nicola Gratteri and Antonio Nicaso, the two main inspectors in matters of the syndicate of crime in Calabria. A few years ago, the cocaine smuggling was done with the help of virtual transporting companies that were controlled by Ndrangheta. Today the largest crime organization in the whole world is based on men who are put in various harbours that are on the way.
A member that has been put to a certain harbour, opens the container that is travels to Joyce Tauro and puts in the packages. Then, he informs his partner about the destination and the number of the container.
Once it arrives, the syndicate of crime empties the container before the police gets there to check it.
The whole story seems like it has been pulled out of a movie but it is as true as it gets. Those kind of organizations prefer to work under strict secrecy and the deeper you go the more power and control you come against to.
As you can imagine no one knows the names and the faces of the people in charge but Ndragheta’s criminal activities are well noticed and noted to the Italian harbor of cocaine.
