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Drug trafficking between Albania, Calabria and Salento, names of all those arrested in Operation "Whisper" emerge

2026-07-11 15:06:29Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

At dawn yesterday, the Antimafia Investigation Directorate (DIA) executed Operation "Whisper", which led to 23 security measures against persons suspected of being members of two organizations involved in international drug trafficking between Albania, Calabria and Salento.

Twenty-one suspects were sent to prison, while two others were placed under house arrest, pursuant to the order of the judge for preliminary investigations of the Court of Lecce, Valeria Fedele, at the request of the prosecutor of the Anti-Mafia Directorate of Lecce, Giovanna Cannalire.

Names

The measure of imprisonment was imposed for:

-Angelo Zanzarelli, 52 years old, from Oria;

-Myrteza Balliu, 33 years old, resident of Scanzano Ionico (Matera province);

-Francesca Marta Calogiuri, 34 years old, from Monteroni;

-Francesca Caputi, 70 years old, from Oria;

-Adi Çoba, 35 years old, Albanian citizen;

-Giuseppe Ambrogio Condina, 35 years old, from Serra San Bruno (province of Vibo Valentia);

-Davide Corlianò, 45 years old, from Lecce;

-Gabriele Carmine Cuna, 25 years old, from Sternatia;

-Gianfranco De Livrano, 61 years old, from Manduria;

-Giovanni Dollorenzo, 51 years old, from Lecce;

-Antonio Alessio Fanti, 36 years old, from Oria;

-Agron Ganaj, also known as Marco, 44 ??years old, resident of Mola di Bari;

-Valentina Giodice, 31 years old, from Oria;

-Alessandro Greco, 43 years old, from Cavallino;

-Luisa Mazzuti, 31 years old, from Oria;

-Klajdi Musaku, 31 years old, resident of Policoro (Matera province);

-Francesco Patisso, 48 years old, from Oria;

-Raffaele Pezzuto, 42, of San Cesario;

-Alessandro Serino, 55 years old, from Lecce;

-Emiliana Sinistro, 46 ??years old, from Cavallino;

-Sara Tafuro, 43 years old, from Racale.

House arrest was imposed for:

-Silvia Caputi, 63 years old, from Torre Santa Susanna;

-Anastasia Serino, 24 years old, from Lecce.

Raid in six provinces

The operation was carried out in the provinces of Lecce, Brindisi, Bari, Rome, Vibo Valentia and Matera, where the DIA targeted suspected groups active in the trafficking of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and hashish. According to the indictment, the organizations relied on Albanian supply channels for various types of narcotics and Calabrian suppliers for cocaine, also using a network of couriers who also transported the drugs on buses on the Italy-Albania route.

From Operation "URA" to "Whisper"

The “Whisper” investigation was born as a continuation of the results of a previous investigation, called “URA”, which had already documented extensive drug trafficking between Durrës and Puglia. The name of the new operation refers to the manner of communication attributed to the suspects, who spoke almost in a whisper and with great care to reduce the risk of eavesdropping.

The Oria "Cartel"

In the Brindisi area, particularly in Oria, investigators allege the existence of a stable organization dedicated to importing cocaine and heroin from Albania, run by a local resident with the help of his mother, partner and other family members. The drugs were initially stored in an office, then transferred to two village houses converted into laboratories, where the main suspect mixed (diluted) them before selling them to numerous buyers in the Salento provinces, at prices ranging from 6,000 to 8,500 euros per kilogram.

Money, records and concealment

Investigators point out that the profits were managed in a structured manner, while part of them was reinvested in new heroin shipments, which were kept by a maternal aunt, without a criminal record. A handwritten document, photographed and found on a seized phone, is considered a "double-entry accounting book", where dozens of kilograms of heroin and cocaine were recorded, for a business volume of hundreds of thousands of euros in just a few months, while the payments made already exceeded 200 thousand euros.

Drug and weapons seizures

During the investigation, the DIA seized a total of about 58 kilograms of drugs, including cocaine, heroin and marijuana, as well as two pistols with ammunition, while also discovering two laboratories for mixing and packaging drugs. Among the episodes mentioned are seizures of heroin and money on highways, at a toll booth and at a workshop in Oria, where a stolen Beretta pistol, codeine, marijuana, cocaine and equipment such as an industrial mixer, hydraulic press and oven were also found.

Camera to the barracks and the escape

The DIA also reports that one of the suspects had attempted to install cameras with internet connections to monitor the Carabinieri barracks in Oria and the entrances to the city, which is considered an indication of special attention to investigative activities. In December 2023, in the same city, a person suspected of being an important figure in organized crime in Brindisi, who was on the run and wanted by several arrest warrants, including a European arrest warrant issued by the French authorities, was arrested in his apartment.

The Lecce Group and its links with Calabria

As for the Lecce branch, the investigation describes an organization led by a person with a criminal record from the northern part of the city who, despite being in prison, continued to give orders through his wife and several messengers. A couple living in a coastal area of ??Lecce were tasked with maintaining links with Albanian suppliers based in the province of Matera for heroin, while another person with a record from Lecce was responsible for securing cocaine from criminal groups in Reggio Calabria and Vibo Valentia.

Roles, orders and wholesale

According to investigators, telephone and environmental intercepts have made it possible to determine the organizational structure and roles of the group, including the phase of internal reorganization after the imminent execution of a final criminal decision against the suspected leader. The head of the organization is suspected of having ordered the concentration on wholesale buyers, capable of distributing large quantities of drugs, avoiding small distributors and guaranteeing sufficient financial flows for the purchase and storage of shipments.

The kidnappings in Lecce and the presumption of innocence

For the Lecce branch, the investigation includes the seizure of significant quantities of heroin, cocaine and marijuana, the arrest in flagrante delicto of couriers and suspected members, as well as the discovery in Lecce of a Beretta 7.65 caliber pistol, with an erased serial number, equipped with a magazine and cartridges. As in any criminal proceeding, the persons investigated are considered innocent until their responsibility is proven by a final court decision./ il quotidiano di puglia/ syri.net


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