TIRANA, June 10 /ATA/ With the support of Eurojust, judicial and law enforcement authorities in Italy and Albania have dismantled a criminal ring suspected of defrauding the Italian national health system, committing corruption and trafficking in narcotic drugs for medical use.
Nine suspects were arrested in one day of the operation. More than 500,000 euros on suspects’ bank accounts and narcotic drugs worth 20,000 euros were seized as part of the police operation.
In a press release, SPAK states that the criminal ring is suspected of operating in the province of Milan, in Italy, and Albania in complicity with doctors and nurses in Italian hospitals. The organized criminal syndicate provided Albanian citizens with a range of expensive and unnecessary medical services that would allow them to enter Italy illegally.
According to SPAK, the investigation documented the issuance of fake medical certificates attesting to the need of Albanian citizens for urgent life-saving medical treatment in Italy, which allowed them to enter the country and receive medical and pharmaceutical services in breach of the law. Corrupt doctors are suspected of collaborating with the organized criminal group in exchange for money or sexual services.
Members of the organized criminal group are also suspected of being involved in the trafficking of narcotic drugs, which they illegally obtained from the Italian national health system and sold in Albania. Some of these narcotic drugs were used to treat patients with COVID-19, which were in high demand during the pandemic.
The investigation found irregular registration in the Italian national health system of at least 82 Albanian citizens between January 2020 and June 2021. These patients received at least 383 outpatient services and 1,554 specialized visits, hospitalizations and prescriptions, in breach of the law.
/sm/
