Varese: 70 kg of drugs in camper, arrests

Context

In brief

• More than 70 kilos of drugs seized
• Two Spaniards and one Italian arrested
• The shipment would have yielded more than 5 million euros
• Operation in the wooded areas of the province of Varese

Key facts

• What → more than 70 kilos of drugs
• Where → wooded areas of the province of Varese
• Who → two 55-year-old Spaniards and a 34-year-old Italian
• Money → 6.600 euros
• Proceeds from drug dealing → more than five million euros

Observation of the convoy

More than 70 kilos of drugs were seized in the wooded areas of the province of Varese, where the Guardia di Finanza arrested three people. The operation was carried out by the Varese Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza as part of economic checks in the area.

Those stopped were a couple of 55-year-old Spanish citizens and a 34-year-old Italian man, resident in the province of Varese. The two Spaniards were traveling in a camper van with a Spanish license plate, while the Fiat 500 following the vehicle was driven by the Italian. Watson, a small fawn Brittany dachshund, was also in the camper.

During one of their routine patrols, the Guardia di Finanza officers of the Varese Economic and Financial Police Unit noticed the camper van moving slowly toward the wooded areas of the province, turning onto a dead-end dirt road. These are areas known for drug dealing. At close distance behind the vehicle, the Fiat 500 was traveling.

The route of the two vehicles, which were proceeding in convoy, aroused the officers' suspicions. The patrol maintained its distance and requested the intervention of another support unit. In the meantime, the officers hid among the dense vegetation to verify the occupants' intentions.

The convoy reached a clearing at the foot of the woods. After looking around, the occupants of the camper van unloaded a first large duffel bag and placed it in the trunk of the Fiat 500. The car was driven by the Italian, the intended recipient of the drugs.

Believing that a transfer of drugs was taking place and after reinforcements arrived, the officers intervened. The people present were detained, and numerous cocaine bricks were found in the duffel bag just loaded into the small car, bearing the distinctive effigy of the hero Superman. The operation led to the arrest of the three individuals, and the investigation was extended to the camper van and the Italian's home.

Operational details

The substances and objects found

The seizure included an assortment of different substances. The recovered material included 19 kilograms of cocaine, 49 kilograms of marijuana and 1,9 kilograms of hashish. These quantities were joined by 72 grams of heroin, 233 LSD blotters and 200 ecstasy pills. All the material was seized by the Guardia di Finanza.

Part of the cocaine had a particular composition. The substance had been mixed with methamphetamines and artificially flavored, according to what was reported during the operation, with strawberry, grape, coconut and melon flavors. The stated objective was so-called criminal marketing, with a characterization of the product intended for drug dealing.

During the searches, 6.600 euros in cash were also recovered, a sum identified as proceeds from drug dealing. Investigators also found two precision scales. The seizure also included a taser, a machete, a baseball bat, a telescopic baton and a folding knife.

The search of the camper and of the home of the Italian man who was to receive the drugs made it possible to complete the recovery of the material. The Comando Provinciale della Guardia di Finanza di Varese thus seized both the substances and the objects found during the checks, simultaneously arresting the three people present.

According to the reconstruction provided by the Fiamme Gialle, selling the entire load would have yielded more than five million euros. The figure concerns the value that the sale of the seized material could have generated, consisting of cocaine, marijuana, hashish, heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

The operation is part of the economic control of the territory carried out by the Comando Provinciale, including in areas near the wooded areas of the province. The stated aim is to prevent and combat the possession of narcotic substances intended for drug dealing. The operation therefore concerned both the transfer of the bag and the contents kept in the camper and in the home that was searched.

Key points

Referral to the Judicial Authority

After the arrest, the three individuals were taken to the prisons in Varese and Como. They were placed at the disposal of the Judicial Authority of Varese, which has jurisdiction over the proceedings connected to the Guardia di Finanza operation.

The Judicial Authority of Varese validated the searches, the seizure and the arrest. The arrested individuals must answer charges of drug trafficking and possession of improvised weapons. The source does not indicate any further judicial developments beyond the measures already validated.

A separate follow-up concerned Watson, the small dachshund present in the camper. The dog proved extremely patient and docile throughout all stages of the operation. After the vehicle was stopped, he was initially cared for at the barracks by Guardia di Finanza officers.

Subsequently, Watson was entrusted to a family that voluntarily offered to provide temporary adoption. The accommodation was therefore found after the assistance he received at the barracks, while the three arrested individuals were being transferred to the prisons in Varese and Como.

The operation is also presented by the Fiamme Gialle as a testament to the Guardia di Finanza's strong social vocation. Alongside its typical economic and financial police function, the Corps works to protect the entire community, intervening against phenomena considered to pose a particular social alarm and a danger to public safety and health.

These phenomena include the trafficking and dealing of narcotic substances, which were at the center of the intervention in the wooded areas of the province of Varese. The seizure of the consignment, the validation of the measures and Watson's temporary placement represent the developments indicated by the source after the camper and the Fiat 500 were stopped.

Source: varesenoi.it