Anti-drug operation in Monza: 1,500 people checked, 4 arrests and 4 knives seized
The State Police conducted an operation with high impact between 6 and 27 May in Monza and the surrounding province. A total of 1,500 people were checked, 4 were arrested and drugs, knives and an air pistol were seized.
Monza, major anti-drug and anti-crime operation: 4 arrests, 80 grammes of drugs and weapons seized
According to reports from questure.poliziadistato.it, between 6 and 27 May the State Police in Monza conducted a series of operations with high investigative impact in urban areas most exposed to drug dealing and illegal possession of weapons. Overall, 1,500 people were checked, of whom 200 were minors; 4 adults were arrested and a further 34 were reported to prosecutors. Four knives, one air pistol and approximately 80 grammes of drugs were seized, including cocaine, hashish and marijuana.
The operation was part of a national project coordinated by the Central Operational Service, which deployed all Mobile Squads across the country with support from the Crime Prevention Unit. At national level, the initiative led to the arrest of 1,335 individuals — 31 of whom were minors — and 2,358 reports for prosecution without custody, 142 of which involved minors. A total of 297,071 individuals were identified, of whom 15,665 were minors.
Approximately 430 kg of drugs were seized across the country: 48 kg of cocaine, 379 kg of cannabinoids and 7 kg of heroin. One hundred and eleven firearms were also seized, including a Colt AR-15 assault rifle and various military weapons, as well as a bulletproof vest. Particular attention was paid to bladed weapons, especially among young people: 250 items were seized, including box cutters, brass knuckles, tasers, telescopic batons, slingshots, machetes, sabres and axes.
The four arrests in Monza
On 18 May officers arrested an Italian citizen found outside a commercial premises in possession of a switchblade knife with a 9 cm blade. The man had shortly beforehand threatened a supermarket employee who had recognised him as a person engaged in theft within the shop. He was also reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Tribunal of Monza for aggravated threats.
On 19 May a 20-year-old Albanian citizen was arrested who had been evading a custodial order for over four years: he was to serve 8 months in prison for absconsion from house arrest, issued following crimes against property. The young man was traced to an apartment in Viale Lombardia in Monza during a drug-related search initiated following a report received via the State Police's YouPol application. The apartment also contained a fellow national of his, irregular in the territory and with a record for crimes against property, against whom an expulsion order was issued with a measure alternative to detention in a Reception Centre.
The owner of the apartment, a 33-year-old Italian citizen, was reported to prosecutors in a state of freedom for forgery and receiving stolen goods: two false number plates were found in the house along with several keys that were the proceeds of theft from the van of a construction company. A modest quantity of drug — a chemical mixture containing MDMA and ketamine — was also found in his possession.
On 8 May, in Milan, officers from the Mobile Squad of Monza arrested a 36-year-old Italian citizen with several previous convictions for drug offences, for whom a suspended sentence measure with probation at Social Services had been revoked due to multiple violations of the orders of the Surveillance Court. In recent months he had been checked in the company of individuals with criminal records and, from the end of April, had been untraceable from the address where he was supposed to remain during night-time hours.
Lissone and schools
On the evening of 19 May, in the municipality of Lissone, in the Viale Repubblica area, a check on a vehicle whose driver had made an abrupt manoeuvre led to the seizure of 7 doses of cocaine and 3 of hashish. The owner of the vehicle, a 26-year-old Moroccan citizen, regularly on the national territory and without a criminal record, was reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office of Monza.
Anti-drug checks were also carried out within several schools in Monza, with support from a police dog unit of the Local Police. The inspections led to the discovery and seizure of marijuana and hashish against unknown persons and to an administrative fine against a young person who had just become an adult, found outside a school in possession of substances for personal use.
The context of the operation
The checks focused on city districts, entertainment areas, at the railway station and in the green areas of the municipalities of the Groane park. The operation involved officers from the Uniform and General Services Prevention Squad and other departments of the Monza and Brianza Police Headquarters, supported by the Crime Prevention Unit and, in some cases, by the police dog unit of the Local Police. The activity is part of the broader national plan for prevention and suppression of drug dealing promoted by the Central Operational Service.
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)