Major Drug Trafficking and Arms Possession Bust in Southern Italy

The Carabinieri of the Agropoli Company, together with the military of the Sarno Canine Unit, the Provincial Command of Salerno, and the Company of San Marco Argentano (Cosenza), have executed a precautionary custody order against 16 people (7 in prison, 9 under house arrest). The suspects are accused of various charges including possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, extortion, and illegal possession of weapons and ammunition. For the investors, they would have set up a drug trafficking network that moved various types of drugs, in particular cocaine, crack, hashish, and marijuana, from the territory of Eboli towards Capaccio Paestum, where it was then sold to local consumers or those from Agropoli, Eboli, Campagna, Battipaglia, and Avellino. The investigative activity allowed to recover over a kilogram of substances including cocaine, crack, hashish, and marijuana, to report 6 subjects to the administrative authority for drug use, to defer one in a state of freedom, and to arrest another 8 caught in the act of possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking. Furthermore, the illegal possession of numerous 7.65 caliber ammunition and a common firearm, which were seized, was documented. According to the accusatory hypothesis, the drug trafficking activity was also carried out inside the Fuorni prison, in Salerno, where the drugs, intended to be sold to others, were introduced during visits. Finally, an extortion episode against a buyer was documented in order to recover sums of money resulting from previous drug sales.