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Italian NGO wins lawsuit against cactus smugglers
29 June 2024
Italian laws applying the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)
Italy
Ongoing
Italian prosecutor and civil case – NGO
Environmental
Andrea Piombetti and Mattia Cresentini
Key Facts:
On 31 January 2025, the Criminal Court of Ancona issued a first-instance decision against Andrea Crescentini and Mattia Piombetti, convicting the two Italian cactus smugglers of illegally trading over 1,000 cacti poached from the Atacama Desert.
The court ordered both civil and criminal penalties. It sentenced Crescentini to 12 months’ imprisonment and a fine of €18,000, and Piombetti to 18 months’ imprisonment and a fine of €25,000. In line with standard practice in Italy, the criminal penalties were conditionally suspended subject to the payment of the civil claim.
The defendants were ordered to pay €20,000 to Associazione per la Biodiversità e la sua Conservazione (ABC) for harm to its conservation mission, as well as €4,500 in legal fees. ABC plans to invest the money into remedies relating to cacti conservation and restoration.
The verdict confirmed the right of conservation groups’ right to bring a claim for actions that harm their mission.
The defendants had 30 days to appeal.
Euronews article, Ainvest article, BBC article, ABC press release
