The Ministry of Justice (Direzione Generale degli Affari Internazionali e della Cooperazione Giudiziaria – Ufficio I) is the Italian competent authority to receive the request for controlled delivery. However, direct communications between the judicial authorities concerned are provided for by the international legal instruments above-mentioned under numbers 3), 4) and 5).
In any case, controlled delivery shall be authorized by the Public Prosecutor Office (PPO) attached to the Court of first instance of the city where is established the Court of Appeal in whose district the activity shall be carried out. When the EIO/MLA request concerns activities to be carried out in more than one district, the PPO of the district in which the greatest number of activities must be carried out is the competent authority. In case of equal number of activities, the competent authority is the PPO of the district where the most important activity must be carried out.
As a matter of fact, however, a communication to the PPO of the district where the activity shall be carried out has been considered enough on several occasions. This under Italy’s declaration on Article 18 of the Second Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 8 November 2001, stipulating that the competent authorities are the relevant police forces determined in accordance with applicable national legislation.
Finally, as to the conditions, there must be an ongoing investigation in the Issuing/Requesting Country for one or more of the serious crimes referred to in Article 9 of Law 16 March 2006 n. 146, including, among others, corruption, money-laundering, kidnapping, human trafficking, smuggling of migrants, terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as crimes involving weapons, ammunition and explosives.
By the means of a reasoned decree, the competent PPO can delay an arrest and/or a seizure if this is needed in order to obtain essential pieces of evidence, or locate or capture the perpetrator of the crime.