"Ndragheta is increasingly involved in drug trafficking activity. They find it so easy to find clients. The clients are mainly young people consuming narcotics. The students are more interested in drugs, but they also use drugs on holidays. The drug they consume the most is cocaine. Ndragheta has managed to monopolize the cocaine market," said Gratteri among other things.
The Italian prosecutor spoke longer about the Albanian mafia and its uniqueness. “The Albanian mafia is recognizing unstoppable growth. Albanian mafia organizations are being heard on a daily basis and there is not only one in Italy. Albanians have set up drug trafficking networks and in places that were once unimaginable to them, like the Netherlands and Latin American. According to the prosecutor, the Albanians often serve as drug intermediaries from Latin America to Italy.
In the interview, the chief prosecutor of Catanzaro spoke of another innovation in the drug market: “Heroin is a major innovation in the international drug trafficking scenario. Mexicans are injecting massive amounts of heroin in the US. They are flooding the market. 90% of the heroin consumed in America comes from Mexico. The Afghan road now has a market especially in Europe. The Sinaloa Cartel is investing a large capital in poppy cultivation. On the other hand, there is a decrease in US funding allocated to the fight against cocaine production in Colombia, Bolivia and Peru."