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Police arrest 18 ‘ultra’ football fans over drug-fuelled violence

Italian police announced on Tuesday the arrest of 18 'ultra' fans of Atalanta suspected of drug trafficking, extortion, robbery and acts of violence in and around the Serie A club's stadium.

Published: 7 March 2017 14:07 CET
Updated: 7 March 2017 16:07 CET

Police arrest 18 'ultra' football fans over drug-fuelled violence

Atalanta supporters cheer on their team with a banner reading 'No Fear'. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

Atalanta are enjoying their best season to date in Italy's top flight, sitting in fifth place only four points off the league's third and last Champions League qualifying spot.

But the Bergamo club's reputation for boasting one of the most fervent match day supports in Italy has been dented amid charges of trafficking and drug-fuelled violence by dozens of supporters, including a 73-year-old and a 63-year-old.

An investigation was launched in September 2015, in which police used hidden cameras around the stadium and the city and intercepted “hundreds” of telephone calls between suspects before launching a raid codenamed 'Mai Una Gioia' (Never a Joy).

A joint raid by Italy's Polizia di Stato (National Police) and Bergamo police on Tuesday morning uncovered large quantities of drugs at several addresses, leading to the arrest of 18 fans from a total of 26 questioned, according to statements.

“During the course of the investigation, hundreds of hours of intercepted calls and hidden camera footage have helped document dozens of cash exchanges, the violent robbery of a drug courier and several extortion attempts on drug users unable to pay their debts,” said a statement by the Italian National Police.

It was accompanied by photos of the drugs uncovered during the raid, posted on the Polizia di Stato Twitter account with a statement which said: “Seized by Bergamo police during the #Maiunagioia operation, leading to 18 arrests, eight precautionary measures and 30 stadium bans.”

The police statement said fans used secret language to buy and sell drugs, mainly cocaine and marijuana, in and around the stadium, after which “acts of violence” often followed.

Police had to intervene in the centre of Bergamo last January following violent clashes between 'ultra' fans from Inter Milan and Atalanta.

REVEALED: Where in Italy you're most likely to be a victim of crime

While Italy is among the safest countries in the world – it ranked 33rd out of 163 in the latest Global Peace Index report, right above the UK – crime is still a concern, especially in metropolitan cities and tourist hotspots.

According to the annual crime report from newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, which collated the most recent data from Italy’s Department of Public Security, Milan was the Italian city with the highest crime rate in 2023.

Overall, some 230,394 crimes were reported in the northern metropolis last year, which corresponded to 7,094 offences for every 100,000 residents.

Milan was followed by Italy’s capital, Rome, with 6,071 reported crimes for every 100,000 residents (up by nearly 600 compared to 2022) and Florence, with 6,053.

The top ten was completed by Rimini (6,002 reports for every 100,000 residents), Turin (5,685), Bologna (5,539), Prato (4,887), Imperia (4,838), Venice (4,825) and Livorno (4,743).

At the other end of the spectrum, Oristano, Sardinia, was the Italian city with the lowest crime rate in 2023 as it ‘only’ saw 1,511 offences for every 100,000 residents.

Oristano was followed by Potenza, Basilicata (1,934) and Treviso, Veneto (2,258).

Single-offence rankings

While the overall crime rate ranking provides a picture of Italy’s major crime hotspots, it doesn’t allow for any insight into the types of offences committed locally, which is why it is worth looking into single-offence rankings.

Milan, Rome and Rimini (a popular seaside resort on Emilia Romagna’s Adriatic coast) were the Italian cities with the highest theft rates in 2023, with the northern city registering nearly 3,900 reported thefts (furti) for every 100,000 residents and the capital stopping just shy of the 3,500 mark.

Milan was also Italy’s least-safe city when it came to petty theft and pickpocketing, with over 900 such offences reported for every 100,000 residents.

READ ALSO: How bad is pickpocketing in Italy’s major cities?

Florence was the Italian city with the highest robbery rate (rapine), with 136 offences for every 100,000 residents.

The Tuscan city was followed by Milan (128) and Prato (124).

Outside of big cities and popular tourist destinations, a number of smaller and, perhaps, slightly unassuming Italian cities had their own crime ‘specialisations’ in 2023.

For instance, Ragusa, Sicily, ranked first in vehicle theft, while Pisa, Tuscany, came in first in reported home burglary offences.

Trieste, Friuli Venezia Giulia, had the highest sexual assault rate (24 reports for every 100,000 residents) in the country, whereas Crotone ranked first for attempted murder.

READ ALSO: The 8 red flags to look out for to avoid rental scams in Italy

Turin came in first for cyber fraud and online scams, while Isernia, Molise, was Italy’s extortion capital.

National picture

At a national level, reported crimes were up by 3.8 percent compared to 2022, with online fraud and robbery registering 10.3- and 9.5-percent increases respectively.

Assault offences also registered a 3.1-percent year-on-year increase, while there were 341 murders in 2023 – up by 13 against 2019.

According to Marco Dugato, a researcher at the Crime Observatory of Milan’s Cattolica University, the latest increases “must be monitored, particularly for certain types of crime”.

In particular, “the rise of more impulsive, less planned, but more aggressive forms of criminal activity” such as assault and robbery “is of concern”.

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