Marijuana, hashish, heroin and cocaine. There was everything in the drug trafficking that would have been set up in Cosenza and its hinterland. He would have been at the head of the criminal holding company Francesco Patitucci who, “in his capacity as manager, promoter, organizer and financier of the association, in his main role of reference for the 'Ndrangheta confederation operating in Cosenza and in the neighboring territories”, would have assumed, according to the accusations contested by the DDA, “the leadership and the direction of drug trafficking in the same territory, presiding over the control of the so-called groups. Italians, therefore managing the supplies of narcotics, taking care of relationships with the representatives of other associations dedicated to drug trafficking, organizing the general lines for the distribution of drugs, delegating the more specific organizational tasks to its main representatives, in particular to Michele Di Puppo, Mario Piromallo, Roberto Porcaro, Salvatore Ariello, Antonio Illuminato; he therefore settles disputes, controls the territory and arranges the division between the drug dealing centres, arranges directly or through people he trusts, for the collection of credits deriving from the sale of narcotics, analyzes the progress of the drug dealing, modifying the strategies if necessary criminals in order to optimize profits and always remaining the information terminal of each relevant episode in terms of managing the criminal activities of the various groups”.
According to the accusations, his trusted men were Michele Di Puppo, Mario Piromallo, Roberto Porcaro, Salvatore Ariello, Antonio Illuminato, who “in their capacity as manager, promoter, organizer and financier of the association, in direct synergy and collaboration with Francesco Patitucci, with whom they agree on the main strategies to be implemented in the implementation of the specific criminal drug trafficking program”, would have identified and chosen “the supply channels of the narcotic substance, purchased large batches of narcotic to be allocated to the illicit Cosenza market, thus presiding over the control of significant drug dealing areas, therefore maintaining, directly and/or through other associates of his trustees, the management of the progress of the retail dealing activities, on debt collection activities from various pushers, on mediation activities to resolve disputes within groups or also with representatives of other criminal cliques”.
In short, a well-organised pyramid system dismantled this morning by the police who carried out the order issued by the investigating judge of the Court of Catanzaro at the request of the DDA of the capital.