Catania: He hid 5 kg of marijuana in an abandoned house, 29-year-old arrested

As part of the strengthening of services throughout the Etna capital, also aimed at preventing and repressing drug-related crimes, which constitute a source of income for organised crime, the Carabinieri of the Operational Unit of the Catania Piazza Dante Company have dealt another heavy blow to the phenomenon of drug trafficking, with the arrest of a 29-year-old pusher from Catania for "drug dealing and possession".

The widespread presence of the Carabinieri on the territory allowed them to identify the young man, very active in drug dealing in the Villa Bellini area. Studying his moves, the investigators understood that the logistics base where he stored drugs, especially marijuana, was located near Via Forlanini, therefore, having clarified the investigative framework, The military planned the action plan, setting up both a remote observation service in "discreet mode" and camouflaging themselves among the people who frequented "their" drug dealing area.

The most propitious moment to intervene came after a few hours of flattening, when the investigators intercepted him while he was going to stock up on drugs on his scooter. At that point, the blitz was triggered, and the Carabinieri entered his house to search it.

In the apartment, in a kitchen drawer, the military They recovered a handwritten sheet with notes on the sales of drugs and the related takings, then, in his room, a dose of 1,50 grams of skunk marijuana. Since the boy had plenty in his pocket €800 in cash, that amount of drugs seemed too little to the investigators who, therefore, understood that something "didn't add up" and that it was probably not the one in the hiding place chosen by the pusher.

Analyzing the keys found in the pockets of the 29-year-old, the Carabinieri found an extra key, in addition to the one to his house and his scooter, discovering that this was actually “the key” to solving the enigma. In fact, being now certain that the drugs were not far from his house, because that was where he had gone shortly before, The investigators began to analyze the locks present in the nearby houses in an evident state of abandonment, until they arrived, a few houses further down, at a ruined house whose door was closed, however, with a new padlock.

At that point, they tried to open that lock with the key in the dealer's possession, succeeding and starting the search there too. The apartment, an old uninhabited two-room apartment, had only one piece of furniture inside, a dresser with several drawers in which the Carabinieri found several bags of skunk marijuana weighing almost 5 kg, a precision scale and bags for packaging the drug.

The man was therefore arrested and placed at the disposal of the Judicial Authority, which validated the provision and ordered the precautionary measure of prison for him, while both the drugs and the banknotes found were seized.