Two people were arrested by the State Police of Reggio Calabria on charges of attempted extortion aggravated by the mafia method. The operation, taken in the late morning of yesterday and coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, was born from the complaint of an entrepreneur of the sector of the distribution of fuels who, tired of threats and pressures, has decided to contact the police.
According to what was reconstructed by the mobile team, the two suspects – without prejudice to the principle of non -guilt until the final sentence – would have brought the entrepreneur approached in August 2023, intimating him to “put in place” with the contacts of the local ‘ndrangheta and explicitly citing the name of a well -known Egemone mafia family in the area. A few days later, the “invitation” would have turned into a real prohibition to open the distribution system, defined as “interest” for the gang.
In October, despite the entrepreneur’s willingness to carry out the commercial project, the pressures would become more explicit: one of the suspects would have claimed 120 thousand euros as compensation for the mafia family, even reaching it to be stked him under the house to intimidate him.
The threats, according to the investigators, would also continue in November with the theft of the surveillance cameras installed by the owner and, finally, with the abusive occupation of the distributor area: a vehicle and a gazebo for the sale of fruit would have been placed by one of the suspects precisely to prevent the start of the activity.
Thanks to the investigations coordinated by the District Anti -Mafia Directorate and the entrepreneur’s complaint, investigators managed to collect serious clues to be paid by the alleged extortion. The investigating judge of the Court of Reggio Calabria, accepting the prosecutor’s request, ordered the pre -trial detention in prison for both.