Inside the refinery, the carabinieri found a laboratory for the processing and packaging of drugs, equipped with scales, sieves, microwave ovens, vacuum packaging machines and presses used to create individual packages. Five arrests and 28 kilograms of cocaine are the results of a drug operation in Latina, Italy. Among those arrested is an Albanian.
The operation led to the discovery of a real cocaine refinery in a villa. The operation began in a flat on Via Pennacchi, where during a search 18 packages containing a total of around 18.2 kilograms of cocaine, the sum of 8,810 euros in cash, a money counting machine, two luxury watches, jewellery and other valuables, six smartphones, a laptop, handwritten sheets containing accounts of the illegal activity, a compressed air pistol, a telescopic baton and an electroshock device were found. Subsequent and detailed checks in the external areas of the property led to the discovery, hidden among the dense vegetation, of the cocaine refinery. Inside, the carabinieri found a laboratory for the processing and packaging of the drug, equipped with scales, sieves, microwave ovens, vacuum packaging machines and presses used to create individual packages.
Also found in the laboratory were two plastic buckets containing 4.8 kilograms and 4 kilograms of cocaine in the refining phase, respectively, a large amount of mixing substances, 27 bags of pellets of 15 kilograms each, most likely filled with narcotics and in the process of processing, several containers containing solvents and sieves used for the chemical extraction of the substance from the pellets, as well as residues from previous processing.
The money, belongings and packaged drugs were immediately seized, while the entire refinery area was isolated and subjected to detailed technical checks by specialized personnel of the Carabinieri of the RIS of Rome, to determine the exact method of extracting the narcotic substance and to calculate the quantity of the substance that was still in the processing phase. In addition to the Albanian, two Italians, a Dutchman and a Colombian were arrested.
