Eleven “official” drug dealing centers, an army of “collaborators” recruited from among the desperate out of work or ex-convicts and a business of 1.5 billion a year: drug dealing in Rome is a business worth more 1.5 billion a year and which offers easy work to over 2 thousand people, including street sales and home deliveries, in addition to the market for reserved appointments via Telegram or Botim.
Who “matters” everyone knows: from the very powerful Calabrians, to the Albanians, through Africans and Maghrebians focused on “smoking”. For the latter, the “dome” has reserved two roles in the market: the retail distribution of cannabis and derivatives in nightlife venues and the sale during “lean” hours, i.e. from early afternoon until 8pm. Then, when demand rises , the squares change hands to specialists.
Among the drug dealing workers there are also graduates
Among the “sellers” there are also unsuspected ones such as a former trader who lost his business due to bankruptcy with Covid and who keeps his family alive with 4 hours a day: 150 doses of cocaine equal to around 4500 euros and 350 euros in earnings pure. With 5-6 days of “work” per week, survival is guaranteed. Then there is Camilla: 36 years old, a graduate in marketing and communications from an important Roman university who, after several internships without even being reimbursed, was removed from the publishing company where she worked because she resisted harassment from her superior who ” intoxicated life.” “I sent hundreds of CVs – she tells Affaritaliani.it – but after months of waiting I gave up. Now I sell a little cocaine, enough to support myself here in Rome, away from my family of origin. Why didn't I decide to try looking for work as a sales assistant? Simple, when I hand over my CV with my degree and master's degree, they are amazed and greet me cordially. Ditto in cleaning companies. This is a country that humiliates those who study. So I decided to become a drug dealer in a skirt and heels and with long hair. My customers? Good people, good people who have fun and who don't have money problems.”
The dime, the twenty and the thirty: the new currency follows inflation
The market rules are decided in Tor Bella Monaca. 50 percent of the Roman market is made here, followed by San Basilio, Ostia and the hinterland. Then there is Casalotti, Montespaccato, Centocelle and the weekend drugs in Ponte Milvio and Fleming, among “children of good Rome” who “pipe” 100 euros on Saturdays and look for pills to prepare for the night out. Since December last year, in Tor Bella where money has always been “minted” as if it were a state, the new denomination made its debut: the 10 euro dose for those who have less money and are unable to buy the “twenties” or the “Trentini”. It is the effect of inflation that led to the introduction of a “reduced denomination” of 0.20 grams.
VIP chats between Telegram and Botim
It is the last frontier to avoid “door to door”: it is often managed by women, young and self-confident. The “Top” message is sent via chat and from that moment orders are taken. Deliveries always take place in different areas all adjacent to the drug dealing squares but far from the places kept under control by the police.
The paradox is that in now poor Rome, the official drug channels invoice almost a fifth of Acea, giving work to many and cash wealth to very few. Another comparison: the historic Roman biscuit factory, Gentilini, had a turnover of 23 million euros in 2022. Drugs in Rome 1.5 billion.
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