On the afternoon of May 30, the soldiers of the Carabinieri station in Vicenza arrested OK, a thirty-four-year-old Nigerian domiciled in the city, illegal on Italian territory and with a criminal and police record, in flagrante delicto for drug dealing.
The arrest took place in Corso Padova, following repeated reports from residents regarding intense drug dealing activity in the area. According to reports, drug dealing meetings took place in the arcades and nearby streets, especially in the afternoon and evening. The soldiers, dressed in civilian clothes, organized a stakeout to locate the drug dealer, described as a black man who used a bicycle to move quickly.
During the stakeout, the police observed the drug dealer reach the agreed location and carry out a quick exchange of drugs. The officers intervened promptly, blocking the man who, to avoid being found in possession of the doses of narcotics, swallowed what he had with him. Subsequently, he was taken to the San Bortolo hospital in Vicenza where, via abdominal x-rays, twenty-four foreign bodies were identified. After two days of surveillance in the hospital, these bodies were expelled and confirmed as wraps containing cocaine with a total weight of fourteen grams. At the time of the arrest, the man also had €190.00 in cash, believed to be proceeds from drug dealing, and therefore seized.
OK was arrested on charges of cocaine trafficking. On 1 June he was taken to the Court of Vicenza, where the arrest was validated and the precautionary measure of the obligation to report daily to the judicial police was applied.
The operation was made possible thanks to the valuable reports of resident citizens, exasperated by the continued presence of drug dealers and drug addicts in their area.
