NASSIR Posted October 11, 2007 "The 'Ndrangheta mafia, which gained notoriety in August for its blood feud killings of six men in Germany, is alleged to have made illegal shipments of radioactive waste to Somalia, as well as seeking the "clandestine production" of other nuclear material..........Shipments to Somalia, where the waste was buried after buying off local politicians, continued into the 1990s" Guardian Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BiLaaL Posted October 15, 2007 Tragic! Why aren't people responding to meaningful threads such as this one; instead of adding to vulgaris tribal threads. Ours is like the man who sees nothing but the windows of a building, while paying no attention to the building itself. Let us concentrate on the bigger issues which really matter. The 'Ndrangheta mafia along with the corrupt CEO of the named company(and many yet to be named) will be pursued and held accountable for their actions, once we get a legitimate, viable Somali government. Here's the above Guardian report in full: From cocaine to plutonium: mafia clan accused of trafficking nuclear waste Tom Kington in Rome Tuesday October 9, 2007 The Guardian Authorities in Italy are investigating a mafia clan accused of trafficking nuclear waste and trying to make plutonium. The 'Ndrangheta mafia, which gained notoriety in August for its blood feud killings of six men in Germany, is alleged to have made illegal shipments of radioactive waste to Somalia , as well as seeking the "clandestine production" of other nuclear material. Two of the Calabrian clan's members are being investigated, along with eight former employees of the state energy research agency Enea. The eight are suspected of paying the mobsters to take waste off their hands in the 1980s and 1990s. At the time they were based at the agency's centre at Rotondella, a town in Basilicata province in the toe of Italy, which today treats "special" and "hazardous" waste. At other centres, Enea studies nuclear fusion and fission technologies. The 'Ndrangheta has been accused by investigators of building on its origins as a kidnapping gang to become Europe's top cocaine importer, thanks to ties to Colombian cartels. But the nuclear accusation, if true, would take it into another league. An Enea official who declined to be named denied the accusation, saying: "Enea has always worked within the rules and under strict national and international supervision." A magistrate, Francesco Basentini, in the city of Potenza began the investigation following others by magistrates and the leaking to the press of the police confession of an 'Ndrangheta turncoat, detailing his role in the alleged waste-dumping. An Enea manager is said to have paid the clan to get rid of 600 drums of toxic and radioactive waste from Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, and the US, the turncoat claimed, with Somalia as the destination lined up by the traffickers . But with only room for 500 drums on a ship waiting at the northern port of Livorno, 100 drums were secretly buried somewhere in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. Clan members avoided burying the waste in neighbouring Calabria, said the turncoat, because of their "love for their home region", and because they already had too many kidnap victims hidden in grottoes there. Investigators have yet to locate the radioactive drums allegedly buried in Basilicata - although, in a parallel investigation, police are searching for drums of non-radioactive toxic waste they believe were dumped by the 'Ndrangheta near the Unesco town of Matera in Basilicata, famous for its ancient houses dug into the rock, the Ansa news agency reported yesterday. Shipments to Somalia, where the waste was buried after buying off local politicians, continued into the 1990s , while the mob also became adept at blowing up shiploads of waste, including radioactive hospital waste, and sending them to the sea bed off the Calabrian coast, the turncoat told investigators. Although he made no mention of attempted plutonium production, Il Giornale newspaper wrote that the mobsters may have planned to sell it to foreign governments. "The 'Ndrangheta has no morals and, if there is money in an activity, it will have no problem getting involved, even nuclear waste," said Nicola Gratteri, the anti-mafia magistrate investigating the shooting in Germany in August of six Italians - the most recent episode of a blood feud between clans in the Calabrian village of San Luca, which cast the spotlight on the 'Ndrangheta's global trafficking and drug-dealing business worth up £25bn, a year. According to the turncoat, the plan to enter the radioactive waste business also started in San Luca, hatched by its then boss, Giuseppe Nirta. Mr Gratteri warned that Europe's police forces were "unequipped" to take on the mafia, whether the 'Ndrangheta, Naples' Camorra, or Sicily's Cosa Nostra. "The mafias were the first to take advantage of Europe's disappearing frontiers, but when I go to Germany I see they have not introduced the crime of mafia association and do not allow wire taps in public places. I'm tired of round tables and conventions; what we need is more courage." Italian police are holding 33 San Luca locals suspected of being in the blood feud, with court hearings approaching, said Mr Gratteri. "We get more cooperation from Colombia in our enquiries than some European countries," he said. "The 'Ndrangheta is not just a Calabrian product that every so often makes an appearance somewhere. The problem needs to be of interest to Europe," he urged. Special report Italy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NGONGE Posted October 15, 2007 ^^ I almost took you seriously for a minute there! What exactly is meaningful about an unproven allegation, saaxib? And even if there is a legitimate, viable Somali government (my head tells you you're talking about your Asmara ilma adeero) how is it going to pursue the mafia? If you want to be taken seriously you have to be serious. To wail over a mere allegation is pathetic. Get a grip my friend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AYOUB Posted October 15, 2007 ^^ Wrong side of the bed this morning yaa Ngonge? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BiLaaL Posted October 15, 2007 ^^Even if this particular case happens to be an allegation, there have been other proven cases in the past. I don't have the report handy but there was a UN report which concluded that nuclear waste was illegally dumbed on Somali waters. The waste which came ashore in the aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami proved the UN finding. As for any future Somali government going after companies / mafia; there is precedent in international law and its within the powers of the state to pursue it, if it wishes to do so. I'm not saying it will be easy. You're head tells you wrong saxib. I'm not necessarily referring to the alliance in Asmara. Even if i was referring to them; they don't happen to be my 'adeeros'. Its sad that supporting the alliance in Asamara is often interpreted to mean that they must be from your clan. I'm for anyone who opposes the occupation and works for the good of Somalia. Their background has always been and will always remain irrelevant in my eyes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NGONGE Posted October 15, 2007 ^^ OK fine. Heh@Ayuub. I actually looked at my last three or four replies and noticed the trend too. Can't say my thoughts were wrong though. The way I expressed them my need some work I'm sure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fabregas Posted October 15, 2007 Forget the Mafia prominent Somali politicians and warlords played the greater role in this. In any case I dont think the U.N is going to bring the head of the mafia to an international tribunal. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar Posted October 16, 2007 The 'Ndrangheta mafia along with the corrupt CEO of the named company(and many yet to be named) will be pursued and held accountable for their actions, once we get a legitimate, viable Somali government. Before we take on the mighty maafiya, we need to eradicate the men among us Soomaali nala sheeganaayo: the likes of Cali Mahdi Max'ed and Cabdullaahi Yuusuf Axmed, who for a few hundred thousand dollars practically sold off the future of Soomaaliya and Soomaalis. It was them who collaborated what is a dire future threat that threatens the very existence of Soomaalis. The Talyaani journalist, Ilaria Alpi, was investigating on this corrupt deal between the warlords and the maafiya during the UNISOM deployment. She was on the verge of exposing this when they murdered her and her cameraman in Muqdisho in 1994. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rudy-Diiriye Posted October 16, 2007 this is not an allegation! but a true thing that happened in the 90s. Many reports came out of it. even 60 minutes did a piece on this. guess, some us were still in diapers then. This a well known fact. do your research. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BiLaaL Posted October 16, 2007 MMA - The fact that a lone Italian journalist like Ilaria Alpi could uncover the sort of things she is alleged to have uncovered, tells us alot about the magnitude of the corruption which took place. Mind you, it was not restricted to the dumping of nuclear waste. I agree with you all that the Somali facilitators of these acts must be held to account before looking abroad. In my view, holding corrupt Somalis accountable goes hand in hand with pursuing international companies and the Mafia. This would be done by first convicting the Somali players (shouldn't be too hard to accomplish) and then engaging in plea bargaining with them on the condition that they provide evidence and testify against foreign players. This is a crucial issue. We need to pursue this issue, not least so that we can gather evidence on the size, nature and location of the waste. Lets not be complacent. Its understandable that most of us have no time to concentrate on other issues while our country remains under occupation. The current occupation, however, will not last; whereas the nuclear waste on our shores will. [ October 16, 2007, 09:49 AM: Message edited by: BiLaaL ] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
