Operation «Eredità» against cocaine trafficking between Brazil and Italy (September 2026)

On 17 September 2026 the Turin Public Prosecutor's Office, through the District Anti-Mafia Directorate and under the coordination of the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate, directs the execution in Brazil of eight pre-trial detention orders and five search-and-seizure warrants, as part of operation «Eredità» against the international trafficking of cocaine from South America to Europe.^[1] The Ros carabinieri of Turin and the Brazilian federal police take part in the operation.^[1]

The investigation

According to investigators' findings, after the 2019 arrest of two members of Italian organised crime — brothers Patrick and Nicola Assisi, considered 'ndrangheta bosses originally from the Canavese — relatives and trusted associates are said to have taken control of the activities in Brazil, keeping in contact with drug suppliers and the network already used to manage shipments to Europe.^[1]^[2] The cocaine shipments are said to have left South America, in particular from the Brazilian port of Paranaguá, bound for various European countries including Italy.^[2] Investigators have linked to the group at least eleven cocaine seizures carried out between 2019 and 2020, for a total quantity exceeding 4.6 tonnes, including a shipment of around 2.2 tonnes that was already in Brazil at the time of the 2019 arrests.^[2]

The measures in Brazil

The orders and searches, carried out by the Brazilian federal police, covered the towns of Palhoça, in the state of Santa Catarina, and São Paulo, São Caetano, Santos and Americana.^[1] Among those subject to a precautionary measure is Paula Simões, 33, a Brazilian national and wife of Patrick Assisi.^[1]^[3]

Pages linking here

Sources

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

Report a mistake.