Rome: Blitz at the building in via Raffaele Costi, 9 occupants evicted

The illegal occupation of the building located in via Raffaele Costi has come to an end, returned to the owner company at the end of the blitz for the eviction, planned by the Police Chief of Rome following the decisions made by the Provincial Committee for public order and safety chaired by the Prefect of Rome and shared with the other heads of the police forces and bodies, in whose headquarters, moreover, the liberation of the building was among the priorities in the panorama of occupations in the Capital. Nine individuals were found inside – all foreigners and without a valid residence permit – who, without any criticality, they were accompanied outside the facility and subsequently transferred to the Immigration Office of the Police Headquarters for further investigation into their position on the national territory.

The liberation of the property was entrusted to a joint activity of the State Police, the Carabinieri, the Guardia di Finanza, with the support of the Rome Capital police. The presence on site of personnel from the Social Operations Room of the Municipality of Rome Capitale ensured the provision of assistance services for the benefit of any subjects attributable to vulnerable groups, with a view to a network strategy that represents the added value of a synergic action with the involvement of all the actors called to contribute to the success of the activities, together with Ares 118 units, in turn organic to the planned device.

The Fire Brigade, in the same vein, ensured the reclamation of the area from the numerous gas cylinders found inside the rooms and most likely used for "domestic" purposes by the occupants. The same remediation, also given the profile of the occupants, has seen the intervention of anti-drug canine units of the State Police and the Guardia di Finanza, which allowed the discovery of approximately 100 grams of marijuana, likely attributable to the drug dealing activity to which some of the occupants were most likely dedicated.

The building, in precarious architectural conditions, was characterised by the presence of large amounts of waste material present both in the external perimeter area and on the roof terrace, accumulated over time.. Since 2011, it has been the subject of repeated illegal occupations interspersed with numerous eviction interventions that have taken place over the years, also due to the architectural fragility.

The operation has removed yet another structure from the network of properties occupied under various licenses in the province of Rome, with the restoration of the right of ownership and the usability of the spaces for the benefit of those entitled. "The activity has another structure was removed from the network of unauthorised occupied properties, with reassuring effects for the citizens who had sent numerous reports and due attention to the fragilities so as to avoid social tensions” the comment of the Prefect of Rome at the end of the operation.