An underground bunker, hidden under a stable in the midst of the dense vegetation of Aspromonte, transformed into an “indoor” marijuana greenhouse: this is what the Carabinieri of the Platì station discovered, together with the soldiers of the “Calabria” Helicopter Hunters Squadron and the 14th “Calabria” Battalion, during an extraordinary control service of the territory aimed at combating the production of narcotic substances.
Father and son, both reported in a state of freedom, are held responsible for having created a real underground laboratory for the cultivation of cannabis.
The operation began after careful observation: the military, during a patrol in a rural area, noticed an electric cable getting lost among the trees – an anomalous detail that immediately aroused suspicion. Following the route for hundreds of metres, the carabinieri arrived at the entrance of an apparently disused agricultural shed, but something much more was hidden inside.
By pushing a tilting panel, operated by a counterweight system hidden from view, access was opened to a real underground bunker. Inside, a marijuana plantation was found with plants between 70 and 110 centimeters tall, illuminated and ventilated by a complex electrical and ventilation system powered by an illegal connection to the public network. Everything had been studied down to the smallest detail to ensure the undisturbed growth of the plants, away from prying eyes.
The entire structure, built illegally, represented a sophisticated example of illegal cultivation, complete with transformers, fans and lamps to simulate the ideal conditions of a professional greenhouse.