It traveled in the form of polyester granules via cargo, to Malpensa. Instead it was a very dangerous substance because essential for packaging the terrible ecstasythe “MDMA” sold in nightclubs and a quantity sufficient to “invade” the European market: 63 million tablets with a value of over 600 million euros.
It is the balance of theOperation “Molecule“ from the Varese Finance coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Busto Arsizio which reached its conclusion after the arrest of two people in the Netherlands and the report of a third party in the Milan areaan entrepreneur, also, like the other two, of Chinese origin.
THE SHIPMENTS
The shipments, which arrived at the Cargo City of Malpensa Airport, were intercepted by the Guardia di Finanza of the Malpensa Group who, busy analyzing the thousands of shipments in transit every day on the basis of accurate selection procedures based on economic-financial risk indices, identified the perfectly sealed packages indicating an “industrial” type of production, the contents of which immediately aroused suspicion in the expert eyes of the financial police: grains of white dust and yellowish flakes did not appear consistent with the content declared upon importation.
ANALYZES ON THE SUBSTANCE
First, we proceeded with the qualitative identification of the material to confirm the customs declaration of the manufacturing company which had classified the product as “Polyester Poweder Coating”, used for polyester powder coating. From there the analyses, also carried out by the prestigious Ispra Research Institute (JRC), given the difficulty in identifying the nature of the chemical composition of the substance. Laboratory tests carried out on the first identified shipment ascertained that the content was 1,063 kg of piperonyl-methyl ketone (Pmk): a chemical precursor used for the production of MDMA-type narcotic substance and listed in the United Nations Convention against Trafficking illicit narcotics and psychotropic substances, which means that it is strictly controlled: its production, distribution and possession are prohibited.
THE LOAD
The shipment, initially destined for a company with registered office in Milan and operational headquarters in Caronno Pertusella and subsequently to a Dutch address, following an agreement with the Magistrate in charge of the investigation of the Republic at the Court of Busto Arsizio and having consulted the International Police Cooperation Service (SCIP), was the subject of “cross-border monitoring”, with the collaboration of the Dutch police.
THE SEIZURES
The international cooperation Eurojust made it possible to launch, in the Netherlands, further and separate investigations, which made it possible to identify a place where drugs were stored, finding 38 boxes of Pmk; 5 kilos of Pmk; 28 kg of Ketamine; 40 kilos of Methylamine (used to produce Mdma). Following further investigations, a further 150kg of PMK was seized; 3 kilos of MDMA pills; 4 kilos of Ketamine; 40 kilos of Marijuana and further smaller quantities of other narcotic substances.
