The action to prevent and combat widespread illegality continues incessantly according to the directives issued by the Provincial Carabinieri Command of Catania and, in particular, the attention this time was directed towards commercial illegal activity, and therefore the urban decorum of the locality where the traders’ stalls are located, and to protect the health of consumers by combating the sale of harmful and untraceable foods.
In this context, the Carabinieri of the Catania Piazza Dante Company and the Local Police, with the specialist support of the Catania NAS, the local ASP and the CIO patrols of the XII Sicily Carabinieri Regiment, carried out an important operation against illegal acts in food sector which saw the use, in the famous and historic market known as “A Piscaria”, of a task force made up of over twenty operators.
As is known, the square has always been frequented not only by operators in the sector, but also by thousands of regular customers and tourists, who see the “fish market” as one of the symbolic places of Catania folklore. Yet, not all those who work in this square have the requirements to be able to occupy it and many of the latter, at the sight of the Carabinieri, literally fled, taking advantage of the general confusion to avoid checks.
The Carabinieri, aware that this could have happened, had already set up a belt with multiple units located in several points of the square precisely to be able to block any fugitives and carry out checks that were as thorough as possible.
Thanks to this preventive operational planning, the “task force” has therefore contested significant offenses relating to the health sector (lack of traceability of fish for sale, hygienic-sanitary deficiencies in the methods of food conservation) as well as those relating to the area strictly administrative-commercial (lack of license for street vending, illegal occupation of public land).
Severe sanctions have been imposed for violators. In the face of over 20 banks checked, the total fines imposed exceed 5000 euros, and the fish products seized for subsequent destruction as they lack traceability exceed 120 kg, including numerous boxes containing prawns, prawns, octopus, sea bream , cod and spider crabs, found mostly on the small benches displayed in Piazza Alonzo di Benedetto, belonging to the subjects who fled. The products generated, which are not tracked, represent a potential danger to the health of consumers, as they have no guarantees on the supply chain inherent to fishing and the preservation of the food in question.
Two of the traders who were immediately blocked were also charged with the violation of occupation of public land in addition to the serious failures to comply with health and administrative requirements.
