Friday, December 12, 2025 - 
'Ndràngheta,ancient coins,Greek coins,looted antiquities,Sicily,tombaroli,Transnational crime
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'Ndràngheta,ancient coins,Greek coins,looted antiquities,Sicily,tombaroli,Transnational crime
No comments
How the ’Ndràngheta turned ancient sites Into criminal assets: Findings from Operation Ghenos-Scylletium exposes the role of TOCGs in archaeological plunder
Today, the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC) in Rome announced the culmination of a sweeping series of coordinated actions which were part of a major two-pronged investigation known as Operation Ghenos-Scylletium. The dual operation, coordinated by the District Prosecutor's Office of Catania and the DDA Prosecutor's Office of Catanzaro targeted two interconnected criminal networks believed to be responsible for large scale archaeological looting and the trafficking of cultural property across Sicily, mainland Italy and onward into parts of Europe for circulation.
According to the Carabinieri press release: "the two investigations, conducted in parallel by the TPC Units of Cosenza and Palermo, converged when it emerged that a Sicilian "tomb raider" team, identified in the " Ghenos " investigation, was operating both in its home region and in Calabria, in collaboration with those investigated in the " Scylletium " investigation."
The Ghenos network, centred primarily in Sicily, is alleged to have been deeply involved in illegal excavations and the theft of archaeological artefacts from protected archaeological sites. Operatives in this network are said to have organised and conducted clandestine digs, then moved stolen cultural property through channels that included intermediaries in Italy and abroad. Their activity, prosecutors contend, was not isolated but part of a systematic enterprise aimed at profiting from Italy’s rich, but often vulnerable archaeological heritage.
The Scylletium network, named after the ancient site in Calabria, is so named for the trafficking of archaeological finds from clandestine excavations conducted within the Scolacium National Archaeological Park (Roccelletta di Borgia - CZ), as well as at Kaulon, an ancient city on the shore of the Ionian Sea near Monasterace, Italy.
At a press conference live-streamed from Catania and Rome this morning announcing the operation, Salvatore Curcio, the prosecutor of the Catanzaro DDA, explained: "The importance of the investigation coordinated by the Catanzaro DDA lies above all in the involvement of one of the historic 'Ndràngheta clans, the Arena clan of Isola Capo Rizzuto." In total, some sixty-seven illegal excavation sites were identified and 10,000 objects, including coins, pottery and jewellery, were seized.
According to the prosecutor, this investigation demonstrates how the sector of clandestine archaeological excavations and the trafficking of artefacts can generate significant profits for transnational organised crime groups. Curcio added,"We thank the National Anti-Mafia Directorate, for its work, which reveals organized crime's interest in archaeological crimes as well. The illegal excavations were conducted in Caulonia and Roccelletta di Borgia to procure extremely valuable artifacts for the Arena clan of Isola Capo Rizzuto, and in particular for its affiliate Francesco Arena.
According to the investigators’ reconstruction and the prosecutor’s statements during the press conference, the Calabrian-based Arena clan of the 'Ndràngheta crime syndicate were involved in illegal excavations within the Kaulon Archaeological Park, as well as others at the National Archaeological Park of Scolacium, the site of an ancient Roman colony located in Roccelletta di Borgia, where several particularly valuable artefacts were recovered.
The finds were then allegedly delivered to the Arena clan to be subsequently placed into circulation on the illicit market. Several of the defendants arrested in this operation have been charged with mafia-related aggravating circumstances, as their illegal activities are alleged to have benefitted local bosses. While details on these investigations are still emerging, the investigative directive indicates that both networks operated in overlapping spheres, combining on-site theft with transnational distribution routes.
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| Kaulon |
In total, these joint operations resulted in precautionary measures ordered by the GIP of the Court of Catania and Catanzaro against 45 individuals, suspected of participating in a criminal enterprise engaged in the systematic plunder and laundering of Italy's archaeological heritage. The archeomafia charges include crimes of criminal association (art. 416 CP co. 1, 2 and 3 CP), violation in the field of archaeological research (art. 175, c. 1, lett. A, Legislative Decree 42/2004), illicit appropriation of cultural assets belonging to the State (art. 176, c. 1, Legislative Decree 42/2004), use of money of illicit origin (art. 648 ter CP), theft of cultural assets (art. 518 bis CP), receiving stolen goods of cultural assets (art. 518 quater CP), self-laundering of cultural assets (art. 518 septies CP), forgery of private documents relating to cultural assets (art. 518 octies CP), illicit exit or export of cultural assets (art. 518 undecies CP), counterfeiting of works of art (art. 518 quaterdecies CP) or receiving stolen goods (art. 648 CP).
According to investigators, the network operated across diverse roles that allegedly included tombaroli who conducted illegal digs, intermediaries who moved artefacts through regional and international channels, and facilitators who laundered both objects and proceeds through forged documentation and illicit export schemes. The scope of the charges reflects the complexity of an organisation that blended traditional looting practices with modern methods of distribution, often reaching foreign markets through digital communication and informal broker networks.
Having made their first appearances in court, nine individuals have been given pre-trial detention orders, 14 were placed under house arrest and 17 are assigned lessor pretrial conditions ending trial. Four other individuals were ordered to report to the Judicial Police (two of which were served abroad), and one has been ordered to suspend his business operations as the owner of an auction house. The proceedings are still in the preliminary investigation phase, with the consequence that the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence applies to all suspects until they are sentenced to a final conviction.
As more information emerges, the ARCA Art Crime Blog will continue to follow this operation. For now, these arrests mark another reminder of the scale and persistence of archaeological looting networks, and of the ongoing efforts by Italian authorities to defend their cultural patrimony, which remains vulnerable to both organised criminal enterprises and the continued international demand for ancient art.
