Catania: Judicial administration after cocaine imports in port

The Court of Catania – Prevention Measures Division – has ordered the application of the preventive measure of so-called "amministrazione giudiziaria" for one year against a company based in Palermo. The financial police of the Provincial Command of Catania executed the measure in the provinces of Catania, Palermo, Syracuse and Parma, under the coordination of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Catania and with the support of the Economic and Financial Police Unit of Palermo and the Tenenza of Fidenza. The company concerned operates in the port facilities of Catania, Palermo, Augusta, Trapani and Termini Imerese, handling storage, transport, shipping and movement of containers and goods. The "amministrazione giudiziaria" does not entail the seizure of the company. It is intended to protect businesses from proximity to criminal organisations by temporarily replacing the existing management with administrators appointed by the judiciary. The court regards this step as the operational continuation of the action conventionally known as "LOST & FOUND". In that framework, specialised units of the Economic and Financial Police of Catania had conducted an extensive investigation under the direction of the local prosecutor's office. In the first half of 2025, the investigating judge at the Court of Catania had then imposed custodial measures and six persons were arrested. They are accused of intensive involvement in drug trafficking with imports from abroad. In this investigative context – with the presumption of innocence remaining in force until final conviction – numerous incriminating pieces of evidence were secured. Two cooperating witnesses, formerly leading members of the mafia clans "STRANO" from Monte Po and "CAPPELLO" from Catania, had identified the port of Catania as a destination for large quantities of cocaine. The drugs were said to enter the port area via commercial cargo movements. It was also stated that members of the "Pillera-Puntina" clan had been active in the port area; in return for 30 to 40 percent of the quantity, they would have facilitated the entry and onward transport of drugs from cargo ships from South America. The witnesses' statements had not been confirmed before the Guardia di Finanza operation. According to the court, the financial police investigations in Catania under the supervision of the prosecutor's office have for the first time provided a clear picture of criminal activities in the port of Catania. The focus is on the person S. A., who has a prior conviction for drug trafficking, and his three sons, including S. M. All are employed by the said company at the port of Catania. At a serious indicial level, S. A. is said to have maintained contacts with leading members of the PILLERA/PUNTINA clan, in particular D. M. A., who has already been convicted of mafia membership and involvement in drug trafficking. The investigations are also said to have established S. A.'s ongoing activity in the drug trade and the role of other participants. Specifically, incriminating evidence was secured in at least three cases of importation of large quantities of cocaine, with a total weight of over 215 kilograms, as well as in a planned but not completed import of around 300 kilograms of drugs. After the arrests, investigators focused on the position of the S. family within the company. This revealed a long-standing relationship between the long-serving employee A. S., who is associated with the Pillera-Puntina clan, and the company management. The Court of Catania found that the company subject to the measure had "not remained outside the criminal context" but had "entered a stable facilitation mechanism also through the inertia or tolerance of its management structures", thereby strengthening the operational capacity of members or sympathisers of mafia groups and promoting international drug trafficking. The court considers as an "objective factor of facilitation" in particular the permanent presence of persons clearly linked to mafia structures in strategic positions in the port. S. A. and his sons are employees of the company with influence on business decisions. Operational processes and port areas are said to have been used to facilitate the import, storage and retrieval of drugs; by locating and manipulating contaminated containers, the illicit cargo could be extracted and removed from the port. In addition, the company is said to have supported the S. family by covering legal costs in non-professional matters and by paying salaries to the head of the family even during detention or absence. This "freedom of action" is said to have made it possible to pursue the clan's interests in the drug sector from their position in the port. The court therefore ordered the one-year "amministrazione giudiziaria" of the company in order to interrupt channels of influence and return the business to its owners after the legal situation has been cleared.