On Wednesday, Italy's Carabinieri police announced that in a coordinated effort across Europe, 27 individuals were arrested in connection with two drug trafficking organizations, one of which exploited migrants as couriers.
The suspects were apprehended for drug-related offenses in Italy, Albania, and Spain, with 20 of them detained and seven put under house arrest. According to the police statement, one group, led by Nigerians, utilized young Nigerian asylum seekers or refugees to transport marijuana throughout Italy and Europe.
The police highlighted a long-distance bus terminal near Rome's Tiburtina train station as a hub for national and international drug distribution. The couriers were recruited from a migrant reception center on the outskirts of Rome, which doubled as a storage facility for drugs.
The second group, led by Albanians, was reported to smuggle marijuana into Italy via fast boats across the Adriatic Sea for subsequent sale to Nigerian traffickers. Additionally, some Albanian suspects faced charges of aggravated extortion against Nigerian buyers who failed to meet their drug payment deadlines.
Italy serves as a major entry point into Europe for sea migrants departing from North Africa and Turkey, with nearly 230,000 arrivals recorded since the beginning of 2023.