Eighteen convictions were decided by the preliminary hearing judge Monia De Francesco, at the end of the preliminary hearing for one of the three sections of the maxi operation that the Messina Prosecutor’s Office directed by Antonio D’Amato launched in June 2024, in which three separate investigations by the DDA and the Carabinieri converged.
In this case we are talking about abbreviated judgments, therefore with the “discount” of the sentence of a third for the choice of the rite. At the time, an impressive international heavy and light drug trafficking emerged which from 2019 to the present day had invaded the province of Messina, between the city, Barcelona, Milazzo and the Nebrodi.
The “Mowing” operation shed light on a huge drug trafficking between Barcelona and Catania, with the placing on the market of not only cocaine, hashish, marijuana and crack but also spice, the most sought after by young people. An operation which recently recorded the sensational declarations of the new Barcelona repentant Salvatore Iannello.
Here are the sentences inflicted by the De Francesco preliminary hearing judge, in some cases less harsh than what the Messina DDA deputy Francesco Massara had requested on 13 June: Filippo Benenati, 10 years and 8 months in prison; Gabriele Cacace, 8 years old; Felice Castellano, 16 years old; Providence Chillemi, 10 years old; Carmen Di Natale, 11 years and 8 months; Giuseppe Di Natale, 9 years and 4 months; Nancy Di Salvo, 4 years and 10 months; Concetta Imbesi, 8 years and 2 months; Filippo Iannello, 10 years and 8 months; Giuseppe Iannello, 9 years and 6 months; Maurizio Iannello, 20 years old; the repentant Salvatore Iannello, 14 years, one month and 10 days; Rosy Maiorana, 2 years and 6,000 euro fine (suspended sentence); Daniele Marguccio, 10 years and 8 months; Salvatore Parasole, 10 years and 8 months; Enrico Paratore, 8 years and 8 months; Nando Russo, 8 years and 8 months; Sebastiano Russo, 8 years and 8 months.