Milan Police Chief Accused of Taking Orders From Moroccan Drug Suspect
In Milan, WhatsApp conversations reveal a troubling relationship between an informant and the head of a municipal police team. Italian investigators are now challenging eight arrests. Six officers have been placed under house arrest.
“Strip him.” The order did not come from a superior, but from Ayoub Makkaoui, a Moroccan suspected of drug trafficking. His recipient, Ilenja Sabato, then a Milan municipal police commissioner, replied that she would take care of it.
The exchange, reported on October 23 by Corriere della Sera, illustrates the relationship described by Italian prosecutors. They say Makkaoui allegedly turned a team of six police officers into a tool for sidelining his rivals in the drug market.
The informant allegedly chose whom to arrest, planned the operations and recruited fake buyers to entrap drug dealers. He also allegedly financed drug purchases and supplied the officers with surveillance equipment.
On July 11, he allegedly asked Sabato to send a man to prison immediately. After another arrest, the commissioner allegedly sent him a photograph of the suspect who had been detained.
Arrests allegedly made to secure a promotion
The investigation describes a relationship that benefited both sides. Makkaoui allegedly eliminated rivals, while the commissioner made a series of arrests in the hope of securing a promotion.
Investigators are now looking into at least eight suspected illegal arrests. The officers involved are suspected, to varying degrees, of forgery, false accusations and other offenses. A total of 33 charges have been filed in the case.
Five officers were arrested in August. A sixth was placed under house arrest on October 22, bringing the number of officers subject to the measure to six, ANSA reports.
Ayoub Makkaoui was also arrested on October 22 in Bareggio, near Milan. According to Il Giorno, investigators seized nearly 50,000 euros from his home.
