Malta-Catania drug trafficking ring investigation after discovery of two tonne cocaine shipment

Six people were arrested as part of ‘Operation Abisso’, an anti-mafia investigation into a transnational drug trafficking network operating between Catania and Malta.

The arrests were carried out by Italy’s Guardia di Finanza under the direction of the Catania District Anti-Mafia Directorate and follow the arrest of 15 suspects in June.

The suspects are being investigated for involvement in organised drug trafficking, illegal possession of weapons, and mafia facilitation in favour of the Etna-based Cappello-Bonaccorsi clan and the Aretusean Santa Panagia clan.

The wider investigation now involves 28 people, with 21 currently under precautionary arrest.

According to Italian media, the organisation trafficked cocaine, hashish and marijuana between Sicily and Malta and also supplied drugs to the Santa Panagia clan in Syracuse.

Authorities allege the network operated with links to the Cappello-Bonaccorsi mafia clan and used cross-border logistics to move narcotics between the two islands.

Four of the six newly arrested suspects, all from Catania, are accused of organising drug shipments to Malta and supplying narcotics to the Syracuse-based criminal group.

The remaining two suspects, from Locri and Siderno in Calabria, are accused of attempting to recover a shipment of around two tonnes of cocaine from the sea off the coast of Catania.

The Italian media is informed that the shipment had already been intercepted and seized by the Guardia di Finanza, before the recovery attempt took place. Police are currently searching for one of the two suspects.

Authorities also seized assets worth around €700,000, including bank assets, vehicles, properties and a food and beverage business allegedly linked to the suspects.

'Operation Abisso' was launched by Italian anti-mafia prosecutors to dismantle an alleged criminal network trafficking drugs between Italy and Malta. During the first phase of the operation in June, authorities carried out arrests across several Italian provinces, including Catania, Cosenza, Lecce, Prato, Reggio Calabria, and Syracuse, while a European Arrest Warrant was also issued in Malta.

Investigators said previous stages of the probe led to the seizure of around 25kg of drugs and the arrest of four people, with the investigation relying on wiretaps, surveillance operations and financial intelligence.