Catania: “Door to door selling” of drugs, a 22-year-old arrested

The Catania Carabinieri are continuing their work without stopping fight against the phenomenon of drug dealing and use, an illicit business that feeds the coffers of organized crime. In this context, the Carabinieri of the Operational Nucleus of the Catania Piazza Dante Company, have A 22-year-old from Catania was arrested for possession of narcotics for the purpose of dealing. In this regard, the Carabinieri have organised a discreet service aimed at controlling the main youth meeting places in the city centre, paying particular attention to identifying those subjects who have found the way sell drugs through the so-called “door-to-door selling” method.

This method, currently, widely used by drug dealers as it allows them to more easily evade police checks, avoiding having to stay in fixed locations and reducing the risk of being intercepted during drug deals. Right during the service, the military of the weapon, aboard a decoy motorcycle, they saw some rather suspicious behavior, attributable to drug dealing activities. In particular, the driver of a small car, while traveling along via F. Crispi, suddenly stopped at the intersection with via D'Amico. After a few moments, he was reached by a man who, with rapid and cautious movements, made an exchange with the driver and then quickly walked away.

The Carabinieri then decided to discreetly follow the vehicle for over twenty minutes, until its driver, having reached the vicinity of Viale V. Veneto, repeated the same action: he stopped again, waiting for the arrival of another individual, with whom, after a rapid contact and a furtive exchange, he immediately resumed driving. At this point, the military personnel of the Arma entered into action with a very rapid intervention, first blocking the road to the car to prevent it from escaping and then blocking, simultaneously, both the pedestrian shopper and the driver. After having secured them, the investigators of the Piazza Dante Unit immediately initiated the searches, finding a dose of marijuana in the buyer's pants pocket.

In the meantime, the 22-year-old driver of the car, now resigned, watched as the Carabinieri carried out a check of the vehicle, inside which the narcotic substance was found. At the end of the vehicle search, in fact, The military found 20 doses of marijuana of the “Kali Dog” type and another 8 of “Amnesia”, both varieties with a THC content significantly higher than normal marijuana, often above 18-20%. Furthermore, the Operators of the Operational Unit have the sum of almost 1.300 euros was found inside the bag that the young man was carrying over his shoulder, seized as it was believed to be the proceeds of drug dealing.

The search was then naturally extended to the subject's home., during which, inside a bedside table in his bedroom, the Carabinieri found: 13 additional doses sealed in plastic bags containing marijuana of the “Amnesia” type. All the drugs for a total weight of approximately 200 grams were seized together with a precision scale and the material necessary for packaging for retail sale. Considering the average price of these seized high-THC narcotics, on the illegal market, they could have generated an illicit profit of between 2.500 and 3.000 euros.

In particular, furthermore, confirming the suspicions of the Carabinieri, the arrested buyer confirmed that the purchase of the drugs was made possible by prior telephone agreements, with subsequent “on the fly” delivery to a meeting place previously agreed upon for the purpose. The arrest of the young man was validated by the Judicial Authority which also issued a precautionary measure against him following which he was placed under “house arrest”.