(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JUL 6 - An Italian-Albanian criminal organisation that supplied drugs to Veneto and Friuli beaches and summer nightclubs along the Adriatic coast has been busted. The operation, known as "King George," was organised by the Milan District Anti-Mafia Directorate and carried out by the Trieste Guardia di Finanza in collaboration with the Guardia di Finanza's Central Investigative Service for Organised Crime. It resulted in 35 suspects, 16 arrests, and the seizure of 98.7 kilogrammes of drugs, as well as assets and financial assets worth €1.1 million. The organisation distributed cocaine, marijuana, and hashish in Lombardy, Liguria, and Tuscany, expanding its operations during the summer to the main tourist destinations in the Northeast, such as Lignano, Bibione, Jesolo, Caorle, Grado, and Sistiana, where it operated outside nightclubs, pubs, beach resorts, and lodging facilities. During the investigation, 77.7 kilogrammes of marijuana, 21 kilogrammes of cocaine, three pistols with erased serial numbers, ten bladed weapons, an Alfa Stelvio modified for drug transportation, luxury watches, cash, and other assets were confiscated. The Guardia di Finanza also reconstructed the organization's illicit profits, estimated at €1.1 million, and placed them under precautionary seizure. "Operation 'King George' is a severe blow to drug trafficking along the Adriatic coast, especially during the summer season, when the influx of tourists makes seaside resorts particularly appealing to criminal organisations," said the commander of the Trieste Guardia di Finanza, Gen. Stefano Commentucci, in a statement to ANSA, emphasising how the investigation has allowed "the disruption of a consolidated drug supply channel to the main tourist destinations in Veneto." Commentucci emphasised the importance of collaboration between the Milan Prosecutor's Office and the Guardia di Finanza units, which has allowed them to target not only the drug distribution network but also the assets accumulated from illicit proceeds, demonstrating the effectiveness of the investigation. (ANSA).