The anti-Mafia prosecutor’s office in Italy compared the earning from trade in cocaine of the Calabrian mafia, Ndrangheta, with those of FIAT-Chrysler.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the prosecutor said that the drugs trade was far more lucrative, because it makes a €32bn turnover that is pure profit, that is, which matches that of the car manufacturers’ value chain in Italy – production and distribution – but absolutely tax free and with ten times greater profit margins. Turnover estimates were apparently based on data provided by the United Nations Office on Narcotics and Crime.

As Europe’s top supplier of South American cocaine in Europe, Ndrangheta is responsible for both wholesale and retail supply, dominating the German, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian markets. The organization is apparently colonizing foreign markets, replicating its organizational model that works as efficiently when transplanted from Calabria to other regions and states. In fact the crime syndicate has now taken roots in other regions of Italy – Liguria, Lazio, Umbria, Veneto, Marche – no longer being a “southern” phenomenon. The group has developed an extensive social network, penetrating the circles of the police, courts, doctors, retailers, public administration and the political establishment.

Police seizures being apparently the tip of the iceberg; from July 2014 to June 2015, Italy seized almost 4 tons of cocaine.

(Reuters, Corriere della Calabria)