A man originally from the province of Vibo Valentia was arrested together with another person at the end of an operation by the Carabinieri of the Busto Arsizio Company against the trafficking of contraband cigarettes and drugs. The intervention dates back to the afternoon of March 3 and led to the seizure of a large quantity of illegal goods.
The soldiers, engaged in a territorial control service in Parabiago, noticed a Peugeot Boxer van proceeding at a suspicious pace and suddenly stopping in via Torre. The driver was identified as a 42-year-old from Vibo Valentia.
260 kilos of cigarettes in the van
The search of the vehicle made it possible to discover twenty boxes in the cargo compartment containing a total of 260 kilos of Marlboro brand foreign cigarettes, without the seal of the State Monopolies.
The investigations led to the identification of the owner of the van, a 36-year-old from Samarate. Thanks to the license plate reading system, the police tracked down his car parked near a betting center in Busto Arsizio, where the man was at the slot machines.
Drugs and cash in the house
The subsequent search of the 36-year-old’s car, home and cellar led to the discovery of 7 kilos of hashish divided into blocks with different labels, around 900 grams of marijuana and 35,650 euros in cash, believed to be the proceeds of illicit activity.
During the checks, drug packaging material, precision scales and 17 shotgun cartridges were also found. The two men were arrested and the material seized.