Catania: Territory checks, over 4.000 euros in fines

As part of the activities aimed at preventing any form of widespread illegality and at increasing the sense of real and perceived security, according to the directives of the Provincial Carabinieri Command of Catania, the Carabinieri of the Piazza Dante Company, supported by their colleagues of the 12th "Sicilia" Regiment, have carried out a extraordinary control service in the Picanello and Ognina neighborhoods, including the seafront. The operation involved the areas of greatest aggregation and the busiest streets of the city.

In this context, the military focused their attention on fight against drug dealing and use, especially among young people, by carrying out several searches on people and vehicles during checkpoints. During the checks, two 19-year-olds were identified, both born in Catania and resident respectively in Sant'Agata Li Battiati and Gravina di Catania. The two, stopped at different times, have aroused suspicion: one was checked on the seafront while driving a scooter, the other on board a small car in the center of the Picanello neighborhood. Both, during the initial checks, showed evident agitation during the check, leaving investigators to suspect that they could be hiding something.

This behavior, in fact, led the Carabinieri to carry out the search, which allowed us to find, in both cases, small amounts of marijuana. Considering the modest quantity, the drugs were seized and the two young people were reported to the Prefecture of Catania as users.

As a corollary to the anti-drug activity, the device also focused on traffic control to combat all those irresponsible driving behaviors that may constitute a danger to public safety. In this context, overall, 34 people and 25 vehicles were checked, issuing 8 fines for violations of the Highway Code, including 3 for driving without a helmet, for a total of over 4.000 euros in fines. In addition, 4 vehicles were seized or administratively detained.