Police: Drug Ring Hid Cocaine in Nuns’ Prayer Books

Police say they’ve busted a drug ring in northern Italy, where South American smugglers posed as religious pilgrims and snuck cocaine into a Catholic convent hidden in their prayer books — all unbeknownst to the nuns living there.

The convent’s janitor was the alleged mastermind of the ring. Police say he organized religious pilgrimages for South American drug cartel members who disguised themselves as pious visitors, then snuck cocaine into the convent hidden in their luggage and prayer books. The nuns were “completely unaware” of what he was up to, police told the BBC.

The cocaine was then transferred from the convent in the northern city of Piacenza, just outside Milan, to a nearby safe house in Bergamo, where investigators say it was refined, cut and distributed out to drug dealers in several major cities.

On Wednesday, police arrested 33 suspects, including the convent’s janitor and two suspected drug kingpins from the infamous Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta crime family — one of Italy’s most powerful mafia groups. Another 80 people are under investigation across northern Italy. They also seized 66 pounds of cocaine.

Police say Colombian drug cartels, with assistance from the Italian mafia, helped back the janitor’s operation. Authorities described this week’s arrests and their investigation in separate interviews with reporters from several local and international media.

They say they’ve been secretly investigating the convent for three years, gathering information that led to this week’s arrests.

Source: aolnews.com

Related posts:

1. Italian police break up mafia loan shark ring Rome – Italian police staged dozens of special raids to...
2. Platteville police officer charged with drug crime PLATTEVILLE (FBI NEWS RELEASE) — A Platteville police officer is...
3. New, Improved Cocaine Submarines Increasingly sophisticated ‘narco subs’ move tons of Colombian coke to...
4. Police-drug mafia link: Model says ready to give statement Panaji: Contrary to Goa police’s claim, Swedish model Lucky Farmhouse...
5. Blog Del Narco, A Danger To The Drug Mafia In Mexico Blog Del Narco videos are widely searched in Mexico, since...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.