Naples: Hunt for illegal electronic cigarettes, the devices are used as hiding places for doses of narcotics

The new frontier of drug dealing with illegal vaping has appeared in the province where in Poggiomarino the Carabinieri have made an important discovery (on which investigations are still underway) but the hiding places for the drug are no exception. The Carabinieri of the Naples Center company found confirmation right in the historic center of the city with e-cigs that appear to be common electronic cigarettes but which in reality are containers of doses of drugs.

The military of the Arma know this well and comb the streets searching groups of very young people paying attention to what is in their pockets. Nothing is left to chance because every object can be used as a means to hide drugs thanks to the inventiveness of unscrupulous pushers but also of very young customers who hope to elude controls, not only those of the police but why not also of their own parents.

Last night the military combed the university area, the historic center and the bar area, dozens of kids were checked. In the context of the operations that saw several reports of use of narcotic substances, there was also an unusual discovery. During the checks, an electronic cigarette a bit too worn out and which aroused the suspicion of the Carabinieri when a boy took it out of his pocket. In the battery compartment, some doses of drugs were found. The device was seized.

During the checks in the well-known Piazza Bellini, a 27-year-old originally from Gambia, already known to the police, ended up in handcuffs. The Carabinieri – during an anti-drug operation – arrested the man responsible for two separate drug dealing incidents.

The 27-year-old, when he was stopped, had just sold two doses of hashish to a 22-year-old and a 29-year-old. Searched, he was found in possession of another 25 grams of the same substance ready for retail sale, hidden in his underwear. The sum of 65 euros believed to be the proceeds of the crime was also seized. The customers were reported to the prefecture.

Imagination has no limits and over time the Carabinieri have found themselves discovering unlikely hiding places. From trapdoors to bricked up doors, passing through old plastic eggs found in chocolate eggs to lighters. This time it is the time of illegal vaping with cigarette packets that are now a thing of the past, the Carabinieri are keeping their guard up.