Italian police have arrested 27 individuals in a pan-European crackdown on two drug trafficking networks, one of which was led by Nigerians and exploited asylum seekers as couriers.
According to Italy’s Carabinieri police, the suspects were apprehended in Italy, Albania, and Spain on drug-related charges.
Twenty of them were remanded in custody, while seven were placed under house arrest.
The Nigerian-led group reportedly recruited young Nigerian asylum seekers and refugees to transport marijuana across Italy and other parts of Europe.
Authorities revealed that a long-distance bus terminal near Rome’s Tiburtina train station served as a key distribution hub for the drug trade.
The couriers were allegedly recruited from a migrant reception center on the outskirts of Rome, which also functioned as a drug storage facility.
The second group, led by Albanians, was responsible for smuggling marijuana into Italy via speedboats across the Adriatic Sea before supplying it to Nigerian traffickers.
Some Albanian suspects were also accused of using violent tactics, including aggravated extortion, against Nigerian buyers who failed to make timely payments.
Italy remains a major entry point for migrants arriving from North Africa and Turkey, with nearly 230,000 arrivals recorded since the start of 2023.
Authorities continue to crack down on criminal networks exploiting vulnerable migrants for illegal activities.
