Kalashnikovs and more: how Russia supplies weapons to the Italian mafia

Kalashnikov assault rifles without serial numbers and modern Russian-made ammunition are entering Italy through Sicilian ports and border crossings in Friuli.

According to the publication Linkiesta , weapons are not only supplied for resale, but are also stored by mafia groups as a strategic reserve on the instructions of suppliers.

“Italy is an arsenal,” said an informed source in Rome. According to him, an entire “underground country” is being formed in the double bottoms of trucks, in garages and ports, armed with the latest weapons that Russia is currently using against Ukraine.

“Weapons are not stored now like they used to be. It’s like going to the store: you order what you need, and everything arrives quickly,” he added.

In Catania, the police have already found large arsenals of the Santapaola-Ercolano clan. They seized not only machine guns, but also hundreds of rounds of ammunition in excellent condition.

“There is a lot of traffic in Catania. There are two areas where there is the most “goods”, and where warehouses are regularly replenished with new samples,” the source said.

Particular attention should be paid to the fact that some Russian weapons arrive without serial numbers.

“They are leaving the factory without them,” the source clarified. This is about the Tula Arms Plant, where weapons could not leave the assembly line unmarked without the knowledge of the state. Europol confirms: “the appearance of new weapons without signs of destruction of serial numbers” indicates direct involvement of the Kremlin.

Russia actively uses the so-called “shadow fleet” – cargo ships under foreign flags that officially transport not only oil, but also weapons.

“It is possible that cargo officially destined for third countries is partially unloaded in small Mediterranean ports,” the Estonian intelligence report states.

In addition to sea routes, there is also a land canal through Friuli-Venezia Giulia, where weapons were discovered in the double bottoms of cars.

“There is an exchange here: weapons in one direction, and scarce parts for drones in the other. Money is not the only calculation,” the interlocutor explained.

Thus, modern weapons from Russia are being smuggled into Italy through criminal schemes and stored by the mafia as a strategic stockpile. This once again proves that the Kremlin has built direct ties with transnational crime, using it as an element of the shadow economy.

It was previously reported that the administration of US President Donald Trump is preparing a new package of sanctions aimed at Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers.

At the same time, Panama has already tightened the rules for registering commercial vessels to complicate the activities of the Russian “shadow fleet” , which is used to transport Russian oil to circumvent restrictions.