Nigerian drug dealer arrested in Padova: hid heroin in residential building planters
Officers from the Mobile Squad arrested a 34-year-old man from Nigeria who concealed drugs in a garden on Via Paganini. Police seized 350 grammes of heroin and eight ecstasy tablets.
Nigerian drug dealer arrested in Padova: hid heroin in residential building planters
Officers from the Mobile Squad in Padova arrested a 34-year-old Nigerian citizen, an asylum seeker already subject to a prohibition on residing in the Veneto region. The man was caught on Via Paganini whilst concealing drugs inside two planters in a residential building courtyard.
The operation was launched after several residents in the neighbourhood reported suspicious behaviour to the police headquarters: an individual repeatedly bent down near the fence of a building, retrieved a bundle of keys from a makeshift hiding place, looked carefully around and then entered the garden to conceal small packages underground. Shortly after, he would leave the building and repeat the same sequence.
Police officers stopped him as he was about to hide the keys again. During the personal search, eight ecstasy tablets and 300 euros in banknotes were found. In the two planters where he had been seen digging with his hands, police recovered 30 heroin pellets, totalling approximately 350 grammes, intended for cutting and retail sale. In the flat accessible with the seized keys, a further 230 euros were found, believed to be proceeds from drug dealing.
The suspect had no stable residence in the city nor any employment. In 2024 he had already been arrested for a similar offence and sentenced to seven months, with the sentence suspended and an obligation not to reside in the region.
The Judge for Preliminary Investigations, at the hearing to validate the arrest, confirmed the detention and ordered transfer to prison. The seized substance will be subjected to laboratory analysis to determine its composition and the quantities available. The confiscated money remains under seizure.
Source: Polizia di Stato - Questura di Padova
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)