Catania: uses a lighter to remove the anti-theft plates of some clothing items. A 32-year-old thief intercepted and arrested.

They continue unabated extraordinary controls of the territory, prepared by the Provincial Command of the Carabinieri of Catania to guarantee a widespread presence of the force and increase the real and perceived safety of the population.

In this context, the military personnel of the Radiomobile Unit have achieved further successes operational results in the context of activities to combat predatory crimes, monitoring of subjects subjected to restrictive measures at home and, no less importantly, surveillance of road traffic.

In the first phase of the service the Carabinieri intervened to a theft at a well-known shop on Via Etnea, arresting a 32-year-old woman from Catania for aggravated theft.

In fact, the woman had entered the store shortly before and, two items of clothing were seized from the shelves, she had entered the fitting rooms where, thanks to a lighter, she had them deprived of anti-shoplifting plates. Sure that she had eliminated every type of anti-theft device, she had therefore hid the stolen goods in a bag, and then quickly headed for the exit. However, her haste, obvious nervousness and bulging bag had attracted the attention of the clerks who, therefore, had called the Operations Center of the Provincial Command, requesting the dispatch of a patrol for a probable theft in progress and, at the same time, describing the woman in detail.

A Gazelle of the Radiomobile Unit, already in service in that area, reached commercial activity in a very short time, managing to intercept and block the thief right on the sidewalk in front of the multistore.

The military, after having secured it, immediately checked her bag finding inside the stolen goods, a sweater and a jacket with a total value of over 160 euros. The the stolen goods were returned to the head of the clothing department, while the criminal was arrested and placed at the disposal of the Judicial Authority, which validated the arrest and ordered her to be placed under house arrest.

In a second phase of the extraordinary service, the attention of the crews of the Radiomobile Unit was concentrated on the checks on subjects subjected to restrictive measures at their home, with the aim of verifying compliance with the obligations imposed on them.

In this context, investigators discovered that a 24-year-old criminal, under house arrest for drug dealing crimes, he was not at home at the time of the checkThe young man's mother reported to the military that her son had felt ill and, therefore, had gone to the hospital on his own. Emergency room. The Carabinieri therefore ascertained that, in fact, the prisoner was in the hospital but since he had not communicated his departure to the Operations Centre, they reported for violating the restrictive measure.

To complete the operations, the Carabinieri of the Radiomobile Unit also carried out the road traffic surveillance, one of the many tasks of the Department, which has always been committed to ensuring citizens have "prompt intervention", in order to guarantee the safety of road users and combat dangerous behaviors while driving vehicles.

The activity saw the military engaged in checks on 106 vehicles and in the identification of 205 people, demonstrating the strong commitment made in maintaining a high level of road safety. During the activity, 21 offenders were fined andof high fines totalling approximately 9.000 euros for serious infringements such as failure to use a helmet or seat belt.

In this context it was also a moped was seized that was circulating despite having already been subjected to administrative seizure. In these cases, the vehicle is confiscated, meaning there is no longer any possibility for the owner to pay the fine and regain possession of it, because it becomes a property of the State. The operations demonstrate the effectiveness of careful control of the territory by the Catania Carabinieri, capable of responding quickly to the security needs of citizens.