JOY TAURUS The financial police of the Provincial Command of Reggio Calabria – as part of the judicial police activity coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Palmi directed by Dr. Emanuele Crescenti, carried out in collaboration with the Customs Office of Gioia Tauro – have completed a detailed investigation which has allowed the seizure of various components for the assembly of two drones for military use. In this context, 6 containers coming from China and destined for Libya were identified and intercepted in the port of Gioia Tauro, on the basis of an examination of the maritime routes of interest and on the basis of anomalies in the accompanying customs documentation.
The ship left from China
The news had been anticipated a few days ago by Corriere della Sera. According to the reconstruction, in fact, the cargo was on board the “Msc Arina”, large merchant ship docked at the port of Gioia Tauroafter leaving Yantian, a port district of Shenzhen, in southern China. Upon intelligence input, once it arrived in Calabria, Italian law enforcement carried out the seizure. The target, however, was not the ship but the cargo: weapons worth several million euros..
Fuselage for drones and not wind turbines
The containers were supposed to transport components for the assembly of wind generators for electricity. After having carried out the x-ray scan with equipment used by the local Customs and Monopolies Agency, further investigations were carried out by investigators from the Gioia Tauro Guardia di Finanza Group, allowing them to ascertain that, despite having construction features similar to component parts of wind turbines (Wind Power Equipment Accessories), the transported goods presented construction elements and details such as to suggest that they could be fuselages and wings of flight-capable devices such as, precisely, military drones.
Drones headed to Libya
The components were hidden between some composite covering loads replicating wind turbine blades, with the aim of concealing the checks. The assembled autonomous guided aircraft (UAV) have a tonnage of over 3 tons, a length of over 10 meters and a wingspan of approximately 20 meters. In light of the facts established – at the stage of the proceedings and without prejudice to any subsequent different assessment on the merits – it was ordered the seizure in relation to the hypothesis of international arms trafficking towards a country – such as Libya – subject to embargo under UN Security Council resolutions and national and community regulations. The activity conducted by the Finance Police of the Gioia Tauro Group, in collaboration with the Customs and Monopolies Agency, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Palmi, further demonstrates the fundamental contribution in the fight against illicit trafficking through investigative activities and other inspection interventions attributable to their respective functions and responsibilities. ([email protected])
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