The indictment only gives an idea of the extent of the crime. Drug lord Alvaro H.* (47) will stand before the criminal court of Basel-Stadt from Monday. The Colombian with Spanish passport and C-ID is suspected of crimes against the Narcotics Act and money laundering. It covers drug trafficking in the private sphere up to and including international drug transport. Tons of cocaine were shipped on a large scale from Colombia to Europe, Africa and Australia.
Contacts from the so-called Clan del Golfo appear in Alvaro H.’s cell phone chats. It is the largest drug cartel in the world. The Colombian syndicate made headlines worldwide in October 2021 when the clan boss Dario Antonio Úsuga (51), known as “Otoniel”, was spectacularly arrested in the jungles of Panama. The action involves 500 soldiers and 150 police officers. 22 helicopters are used in the arrest. The search success is teamwork. The Colombians are flanked by the US drug enforcement agency DEA.
Criminal organizations form front in drug war
“Otoniel” will be extradited to the United States in May 2022 and await trial in New York, despite being Colombian. This collaboration is part of the so-called War on Drugs. Since the 1970s, US military personnel have intervened internationally in the destruction of coca plantations, assisted in arrests and convicted drug lords. The DEA has 92 offices in 70 states outside the US.
But not only the US is at war. Alliances have long been formed. The Italian Direzione Investigativa Antimafia is in direct contact with the DEA, the Latin American and European authorities. Reason: The European drug trade is firmly in the hands of the Calabrian mafia ‘Ndrangheta. But the Sicilian Cosa Nostra is also participating. They form a front with their own allies: Balkan cartels, African, Colombian and Dominican mafia organizations.
Worrying trend
In the spring of 2021, Trieste’s anti-mafia unit was already able to strike against the Clan del Golfo. With the help of the DEA, the Colombian authorities and Spanish drug detectives, the Guardia di Finanza intercepts more than 4,300 kilos of cocaine. The drugs should have been shipped to the Netherlands, Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria.
In addition to the Calabrian and Sicilian mafia, organizations from Southeastern Europe, Turkey, Africa and South America are also active in Switzerland, says federal prosecutor Sergio Mastroianni. The cartels behaved “enterprisingly” and would therefore cooperate, Mastroianni told Blick. A worrying trend. The federal prosecutor says: “If you want to use drug trafficking on a large scale, you need transnational networks. Criminal organizations have access to it. It’s not for normal gangs.”
* Name changed
Myrtle Muller
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
