Operation «Eredità»

An Italian-Brazilian investigation into cocaine trafficking to Europe, led by the Turin anti-mafia district directorate, which on 17 September 2026 led to eight precautionary custody orders in Brazil.

Image from the ANSA Piemonte publication — From the publication by ANSA Piemonte, 2026-09-17

Operation «Eredità» is the Italian-Brazilian investigation into the international trafficking of cocaine from South America to Europe, led by the Turin anti-mafia district directorate, with the coordination of the national anti-mafia and anti-terrorism directorate. On 17 September 2026 in Brazil the federal police, together with carabinieri of the Ros of Turin, executed eight precautionary custody orders and five search and seizure warrants in Palhoça (Santa Catarina), São Paulo, São Caetano, Santos and Americana, against relatives and associates of Patrick and Nicola Assisi, 'ndrangheta figures originally from Canavese arrested in 2019.^[1]^[2]^[3]

According to investigators, after the arrest of the two men, relatives and trusted associates allegedly continued the trafficking, keeping contact with the suppliers and logistics network already in use; the shipments reportedly left mainly from the Brazilian port of Paranaguá bound for various European countries, including Italy. The network has been linked to at least eleven seizures carried out between 2019 and 2020, for over 4.6 tonnes of cocaine, including a shipment of about 2.2 tonnes that was already in Brazil at the time of the 2019 arrests.^[1]^[2]

The arrests

Among those arrested is Paula Simões, a 33-year-old Brazilian national and wife of Patrick Assisi.^[1]^[2]

Pages linking here

Sources

CronacaQui Torino — 17 September 2026
ANSA Piemonte — 17 September 2026
ANSA Piemonte — 17 September 2026

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