Hidden in Italian Forests: Moroccan Youth Exploited in Shocking Drug Trafficking Ring

According to an investigation by the daily newspaper Corriere Milano, there are criminal networks operating in the Groane regional park and the surrounding forests of the provinces of Milan, Monza and Brianza, in northern Italy, which exploit young Moroccan nationals, mainly from the Béni Mellal region, in the context of drug trafficking. Most of these young people, under the age of twenty, are recruited in Morocco, then transferred to Spain, before being transported to northern Italy through clandestine logistics circuits.

Arrived in Italy, these young Moroccans live in seclusion, under constant surveillance, in abandoned buildings scattered throughout the Groane regional park and its wooded surroundings, in deplorable living conditions. They are forced to sell drugs. Those who fail to achieve good sales performance in drug trafficking are beaten. Those who are apprehended by the specialized "Cacciatori" (hunters) brigade, dedicated to the fight against trafficking in forest areas, are quickly evacuated to Spain, where their release is facilitated by procedural flaws.

The Italian authorities, in coordination with the law enforcement agencies (police and carabinieri), often succeed in dismantling these networks. In Italy, drug trafficking is punishable by sentences of up to 20 years’ imprisonment, particularly when committed by organized crime or in the vicinity of sensitive places such as schools.