An operation called ” Molecola “, carried out under the coordination of the prosecutor’s office of Busto Arsizio, near Milan (North), led to the discovery of several tons of chemical components originating from China and intended for the production of synthetic drugs, Italian customs announced on Monday July 1.
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The investigation, conducted in particular in Italyled to the seizure of more than six tonnes of precursors, in powder form, used for the manufacture of MDMA, better known as ecstasy. This huge quantity, coming from Chinais said to have produced 63 million ecstasy pills, with an estimated commercial value of 630 million euros.
The chemicals were discovered at Milan Malpensa airport and then in warehouses in Varese, and were supposedly distributed by a company based near Milan to various European countries. Among them, the Netherlands, where, thanks to the collaboration with the judicial agency Eurojusta drug storage location was identified and two Chinese nationals were arrested.
A supply chain from China
In Milan, an entrepreneur is the subject of a preliminary investigation. Also Chinese, he is suspected of having supervised the importation from China of substances used in the production of synthetic drugs. The result of the operation called ” Molecola “, ” Molecule “, is considered exceptional by the Italian authorities.
Investigators were first tipped off to the trafficking in 2022 at Milan’s Malpensa airport during an inspection of goods declared to customs as containing “rpolyester powder coating »: in reality, they concealed « white powder grains and yellowish flakes » non-compliant.
Some of the drugs were exported to the Netherlands
The powder, analysed in the laboratory, turned out to be PMK, a precursor to ecstasy normally used in the production of perfumes. The shipment passed through a company with headquarters in Milan and warehouses in Varese, in the same region of Lombardy, before being shipped to the Netherlands, where it was finally seized by the Dutch police.
” We spotted this shipment in Italy, then we tried to understand its final destination, which turned out to be Holland, so we followed it through cooperation at European level.explained Italian customs. The 1 603 kg that went to Holland were seized there, and two people were arrested ” she confirmed.