High Impact in border areas: 44 arrests and over 12 thousand people identified by the State Police.

Yesterday morning the State Police concluded a vast operation, in the provinces of Aosta, Bolzano, Como, Cuneo, Imperia, Gorizia, Turin, Trieste and Udine that, since 22 February, the SCO and the Flying Squads of Aosta, Bolzano, Como, Cuneo, Imperia, Gorizia, Turin, Trieste and Udine as well as the competent SISCOs, supported by various crews of the Crime Prevention Departments and by some helicopter units , they carried out through targeted info-investigative activities in various areas of the aforementioned retro-pass provinces, notoriously frequented by subjects, both Italian and foreign, who, along the land border routes used by irregular migrants, are engaged in widespread crime.

In particular:

· in the province of Aosta, the operation was concentrated in various areas, including in the border areas, in particular at the Mont Blanc Tunnel, an artery of primary importance for tourist and commercial traffic in Europe also exploited by passers, in the places of residence to host groups of foreigners, in the areas of the railway station and the nearby bus station, places regularly frequented by foreigners;

· in the province of Bolzano, several checkpoints were carried out at the Vipiteno motorway barrier and the Brennero station at the entrance to the national territory, as well as in the capital, in the places frequented daily by irregular non-EU citizens, i.e. the railway station and the banks of the Isarco and Talvera rivers. As part of the border controls implemented for the occasion, a Russian citizen was arrested for aiding and abetting illegal immigration as he was illegally transporting four Syrian citizens, without documents, entering the national territory. The aforementioned strengthened controls also made it possible to trace and arrest two non-EU citizens who were the recipients of restrictive measures;

· in the province of Como, the checks were carried out both in the territory mainly affected by traffic exiting the national territory towards the Swiss border, and in the areas of flow of illegal immigrants exiting towards Swiss territory, including checks on trains, at the stations and in the on the border with Lombardy. The controls implemented made it possible to report a person who did not comply with the expulsion order;

· in the province of Cuneo, the operation was concentrated in the accommodation facilities in the Alba area which are known to irregularly host non-EU citizens. The activity carried out allowed the expulsion with direct accompaniment to Albania of an illegal individual, as well as the reporting of an Italian individual for having given accommodation to foreigners without a residence permit;

· in the province of Imperia, the services were mainly concentrated in Ventimiglia, a meeting place for individuals intending to travel illegally to neighboring French territory, in the areas of the station, public gardens and other places where irregular individuals usually meet;

· in the province of Gorizia, checks were carried out near the border line and along the main transit routes, as well as at the accommodation facilities and apartments usually used by irregular foreigners;

· in the province of Turin, targeted services were carried out in the areas of Turin and its province stations, border crossings and international bus lines; furthermore, services have been strengthened in the main meeting places with checks at Internet Points and Markets managed by foreigners, as well as organized services aimed at combating the exploitation of prostitution; during the aforementioned checks, 1 individual was arrested and a further 10 individuals in various capacities were reported for crimes envisaged by the Consolidated Immigration Act;

· in the province of Trieste, the activities involved the land borders (Rabuiese, Fernetti crossings) and sea borders, as well as the main arteries that lead from the border of nearby Slovenia to Trieste, as well as towards the motorway that connects the city to Venice. The checks were also carried out in areas of the city where foreigners usually stay, including a former abandoned warehouse near the so-called railway station. Silos, a well-known meeting place and refuge for homeless foreigners not included in the reception system, irregulars who arrive illegally in the national territory via the Balkan route, to subsequently reach the countries of Northern Europe. During the aforementioned services, a person was arrested for the crimes of aiding and abetting illegal immigration and kidnapping;

· in the province of Udine, checks were carried out along the transit and aggregation routes of foreigners, with particular attention to the communities hosting unaccompanied foreign minors. Furthermore, with the support of helicopters, a check was carried out in a disused area of ​​a former barracks, which over time has become a reception place for around 500 applicants for international protection. Thanks to the intensified checks, a person was arrested for possession of false community documents aimed at evading flow/immigration regulations and a person reported in a state of freedom for the same crime.

The activities made it possible to achieve, among other things, the results reported below:

• 44 people arrested for drugs, aiding and abetting illegal immigration and as recipients of restrictive measures. ;
• 151 people reported for various crimes;
• 12.071 people identified;
• over 2000 doses of hashish and cocaine seized;
• approximately high 100 administrative fines under the highway code and for offenses in commercial activities.

The operation hit several local criminal groups which, in the context described above, are active above all in the management of drug dealing centers where illegal foreigners operate.

Furthermore, from October 2023, after the restoration of border controls with Slovenia, the Border Police arrested 90 people, of which 50 for the crime of aiding and abetting illegal immigration. In total, however, 362 people have been reported for so-called cross-border crimes, such as the importation of narcotic substances, possession of weapons and smuggling of foreign manufactured tobacco.

During the checks, carried out 24 hours a day at the border crossings of Trieste, Gorizia, Cividale del Friuli and Tarvisio, over 50.000 people were identified and numerous vehicles seized, many of which were used to facilitate the irregular passage of illegal immigrants or to hide drugs and weapons.

On various occasions, the people reported attempted to allow fuel or valuable recycled products to enter Italian territory, without paying the required excise duties.

Furthermore, at the Gorizia crossing, 90 puppy dogs from Eastern Europe were seized and transported in cars and vans without the necessary health certifications and in terrible hygienic conditions.

Recently, at the Fernetti border (Trieste), a Romanian citizen was arrested as the recipient of an execution order, issued by the Court of Chieti, for multiple prison sentences to be served in prison.

Finally, a Coccau (Tarvisio), a man of Albanian origins, before being blocked by the police, in an attempt to avoid checks, fled and took the cross-border cycle path with the car full of illegal foreign minors.