The 11 people arrested in Sardinia as part of the Golden Mole investigation were targeting the gold produced by Portovesme srl
The target was the 30 kilos of gold produced at the smelter operated by Glencore’s subsidiary in San Gavino (worth around 6 million euros), which is then transported by armoured van to Tuscany
The 11 men arrested by the police on Saturday morning as part of Operation Golden Mole – coordinated by the Cagliari Anti-Mafia Directorate – were targeting the gold produced at the San Gavino plant by Portovesme srl, a subsidiary of Glencore.
30 kilos of gold a week
The target – which also saw a worker at the Medio Campidano plant arrested – was the approximately 30 kilograms of gold produced each week at the smelter operated by the subsidiary Glencore in San Gavino, worth around 6 million euros and shipped by armoured van to Tuscany. Gold is one of the products which, although produced in limited quantities compared to other volumes, is manufactured at the plants of the Glencore-controlled subsidiary. More than one metric tonne of gold and 300 metric tonnes of silver are subsequently channelled into the precious metals market. These niche products carry significant weight for the metallurgical plant.
Stopped before they could spring into action
However, the 11 people were stopped by the police before they could carry out their plan, which, in recent times, had apparently also involved directly raiding the foundry’s vault (hence the name of the operation, ‘Golden Mole’).
The role of the bass player
According to the charges, ‘the contribution of the inside man was decisive during the preparatory phase,’ the investigators emphasise, ‘a skilled worker employed at the site to be burgled who, “according to the investigation”, is alleged to have provided the organisation with confidential information of fundamental importance, by taking photographs not only of the armoured vans present at the time of collection, but also of the entire production site and its access points, documenting entrances, internal routes, security systems and sensitive areas of the facility”.
A detailed action plan
An operation that would subsequently have made it possible to draw up an ‘extremely detailed’ action plan and to identify the methods deemed most suitable for reaching the vault and neutralising the defences in place, whilst taking into account the use of weapons, explosives and heavy machinery.
