Cremona, produced weapons and explosives at home in Palazzo Pignano: 29-year-old goes to prison

Cremona, produced weapons and explosives at home in Palazzo Pignano: 29-year-old goes to prison.

On the morning of Saturday 1 July, the Carabinieri of the Investigation Unit of the Operations Department of Cremona carried out a precautionary custody order in prison at Palazzo Pignano against a 29-year-old Italian citizen, with a police record against him and already under house arrest.

The latter was arrested for manufacturing and possession of explosive material. Furthermore, he is also under investigation for manufacturing and possession of homemade weapons and for possession of narcotics.

Hemp and explosive in the house

The man was arrested by the Pandino police on 19 December last when they discovered that he had set up a small greenhouse in his home with some pots and respective Indian hemp plants.

Furthermore, in the kitchen he had some bottles and jars containing TATP (acetone peroxide), a very dangerous and unstable explosive used to explode ATM machines as well as in various attacks committed abroad.

The kidnapping

During the search of the house and car they had found a total of almost 210 grams of marijuana, hemp leaves still to be chopped, hallucinogenic mushrooms for approximately 20 grams, precision scales, the sum of over 1.000 euros.

And then the weapons: a precision rifle complete with pellets, two stun pistols, five handmade pistols made of polymeric material, revolver magazines, plastic and iron pistol barrels, shell casings and bullets of various calibers and over two kilograms of powder, contained in jars and vases, turned out to be explosive material used to handcraft firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices.

After the validation of the arrest he was placed under house arrest and the bomb squad of the Carabinieri Provincial Command of Milano, given the danger of these products, had exploded the dust with an adequate safety framework.

The second search

On May 7, during a new search of the man's house, the Pandino carabinieri found a large quantity of nitric acid, various chemical products, gun barrels, a gun made of polymeric material, a tube for launching signal rockets , 92 grams of marijuana, several wrappers and jars containing a large amount of what was presumably TATP again.

The explosive powders had been detonated by the police bomb squad, while the rest of the material had been seized and the man had been reported.

Following this further seizure, the Carabinieri of the Cremona Investigation Unit intervened and requested and obtained from the judicial authority a detention order in prison, taking into account the repetition of the very dangerous conduct of manufacturing and possession of weapons and explosive material.

The explosive material

In fact, the first chemical analyzes carried out made it possible to establish that one of the chemical substances found was nitric acid, used as a precursor of explosive substances and characterized by a high level of danger.

The large quantity of nitric acid produced would have allowed the production of a significant quantity of nitroglycerin if combined with other chemical substances found inside the house.

Therefore the man had certainly attempted to manufacture explosives with deadly characteristics and there was a real danger that he would commit the same type of crimes in the future.

In jail

For this reason the judicial authority, agreeing with the findings highlighted by the staff of the Cremona Investigation Unit, decided to replace the measure of house arrest with precautionary custody in prison. This taking into account that man continued to manufacture explosive precursor substances that he handled at home without worrying about the possible ignition effects or the violent reaction with other substances.

On the morning of Saturday 1 July the soldiers of the Investigative Unit showed up very early at the man's house and, with the support of the Carabinieri of the Crema Company, the bomb squad of the Carabinieri Provincial Command of Milano and the anti-explosive dog unit of the Orio al Serio Dog Unit (BG), arrested him and searched his home.

The last search

During the search, several chemical products were found and seized, freely available for sale but usable to produce explosive precursor substances, two 3D printers used for the production of polymer firearms, shell casings of various calibers, parts of firearms made of polymeric, a homemade device composed of a large firecracker to which iron nails and marbles had been joined.

The man was subsequently accompanied to the Santa Lucia barracks in Cremona and then to the Cà del ferro prison. Further assessments and analyzes on the alleged TATP found in large quantities in May are underway.