Feds Indict MI Man They Call Kingpin Of Cocaine Trafficking Group

DETROIT — Federal authorities believe a Michigan man was the kingpin behind an international cocaine trafficking ring that involved, among other things, the construction of a submarine to transport cocaine overseas to Europe and other parts of the world.

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Ylli Didani, 43, of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Among the allegations federal authorities have waged against Didani: that he and other conspirators planned and financed the distribution of cocaine from Michigan and other locations to places around the world.

Acting United States Attorney Saima Mohsin called the group Didani is accused of being the leader of a "large scale, well-organized drug trafficking organization involved in the distribution of thousands of kilograms of cocaine worth tens of millions of dollars."

"I salute the entire law enforcement team who labored so tirelessly on this case, from prosecutors to police officers, federal agencies to local police departments," Mohsin said. "Their efforts culminated in today’s indictment and demonstrate cooperation and teamwork at its best.”

In two transactions that occurred in June 2016 and December 2017, Didani received at least $550,000 from other co-conspirators for the purpose of purchasing bulk cocaine, according to the indictment. Didani and other co-conspirators are accused of using several means of transportation, including private aircraft and commercial containerships, for purposes of obtaining and distributing the cocaine throughout Europe, the indictment reads.

According to a criminal complaint that was unsealed on April 1 — after Didani was arrested on March 31 in North Carolina — Didani was the leader of an international drug trafficking organization with ties to the United States, Mexico, South America and Europe.

The Detroit News reported that Didani is linked to Marty Tibbitts, the former CEO of Clementine Live Answering Service, a business based out of Harper Woods. Tibbits, who died in a plane crash in July 2018, and Didani were overseeing the design of an underwater submarine that would be used to transport large quantities of cocaine to Europe.

The submarine, which authorities said was going to be equipped with an underwater modem and GPS antenna, would transport the cocaine while attached to the bottom of a commercial containership. The submarine would then be remotely released from the containership off the shore of Europe, authorities allege, and would then be picked up along with cocaine by a fishing boat controlled by Didani's organization.

The criminal complaint further submits that Didani arranged the distribution of several shipments of cocaine from South America to Europe, where the cocaine was seized by law enforcement. In 2019 and 2020, Law enforcement seized over 3400 kilograms of cocaine from Didani’s organization, authorities said.

The seized cocaine has a street value of over $100,000,000, according to federal agents.