Three Moroccan drug traffickers were arrested and 17 supply camps dismantled during a coordinated law enforcement sweep across seven Lombardy provinces on Tuesday afternoon, QuiComo reported.
The operation targeted wooded areas across Milan, Bergamo, Monza Brianza, Varese, Como, Lecco, and Pavia.
During the sweep, one suspect attempted to evade capture by swimming across a frigid river while another fled on foot through open fields. Both suspects were tracked from above by a Carabinieri helicopter that monitored their movements throughout the operation.
Tuesday’s sweep followed a prior enforcement wave from the preceding week that resulted in eight arrests alongside additional seizures of weapons and narcotics. Officials designed the latest operation to strip drug rings of their territorial footholds and deny them operational continuity.
Provincial command units led the operation with support from the 3rd Lombardy Regiment, the Cacciatori di Sicilia helicopter squadron, the Bergamo forestry group, and canine units based in Casatenovo. Additional tactical support included drones and canine units provided by the Milan local police.
Officers identified 146 individuals and inspected 107 vehicles along access routes leading into the targeted woodland areas. Three buyers encountered during the sweep were referred to the prefecture for administrative processing.
Inside and around the 17 dismantled encampments, officers discovered machetes with blades up to 40 centimeters long, switchblades, multi-use knives, an iron baseball bat measuring 110 centimeters, pickaxes, and burglary tools. Investigators also seized packaging materials used to portion narcotics for street sale.
Laboratory analysis of the seized materials confirmed nearly 240 grams of illicit substances, comprising roughly 128 grams of heroin, 86 grams of cocaine, and over 104 grams of hashish. Authorities also recovered more than 6,400 euros in mixed-denomination banknotes from various countries, alongside a one-gram gold ingot.
One of the three arrested Moroccan nationals was already subject to an existing prison custody order for narcotics trafficking.
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