Milan, 18 Sept. (LaPresse) – Officers from the Mobile Squad in San Giovanni La Punta, in the province of Catania, have dismantled a criminal operation operating on two fronts: on the one hand, the technological manufacture of weapons, and on the other, the trafficking of synthetic and non-synthetic drugs. The operation led to the arrest of a 27-year-old man, who was taken into custody. Officers discovered a workshop for the manufacture of ‘ghost guns’. The workshop had been set up in a garage belonging to the 27-year-old, where police found a professional resin-based 3D printer, seven bottles of liquids and polymer resins, and a USB stick containing design files for the 3D modelling of firearms. Numerous plastic gun parts were discovered, self-produced using the 3D printer, without serial numbers and untraceable. According to technical analyses, these ‘ghost guns’ are capable of firing if assembled with the correct mechanical components. During the search, a ‘front-firing’ 22-calibre flare gun was also found, along with 42 blank cartridges. Alongside the production of 3D-printed weapon parts, the 27-year-old had been preparing doses of narcotics, many of which were synthetic. In the bedroom, hidden inside a locked metal box, the police found and seized 163 grams of ketamine, 93.5 grams of hashish, 6.3 grams of the same substance, 0.4 grams of MDMA, 0.3 grams of ‘jungle spice’ and 3.5 grams of cannabis. To prepare the doses, the man used a precision electronic balance, baking paper and plastic sachets. The 27-year-old kept a record of the income from his drug-dealing activities in a notebook, noting down figures and the names of his customers. The police also found two knives with blades coated in hashish, a further precision balance and €5,630 in cash, believed to be the proceeds of the illegal activity.
Catania: ‘ghost weapons’ and drugs workshop uncovered; 27-year-old arrested
Milan, 18 Sept. (LaPresse) – Officers from the Mobile Squad in San Giovanni La Punta, in the province of Catania, have dismantled a criminal operation operating on two fronts: on the one hand, the technological manufacture of weapons, and on the other, the trafficking of synthetic and non-synthetic drugs. The operation led to the arrest of a 27-year-old man, who was taken into custody. Officers discovered a workshop for the manufacture of ‘ghost guns’. The workshop had been set up in a garage belonging to the 27-year-old, where police found a professional resin-based 3D printer, seven bottles of liquids and polymer resins, and a USB stick containing design files for the 3D modelling of firearms. Numerous plastic gun parts were discovered, self-produced using the 3D printer, without serial numbers and untraceable. According to technical analyses, these ‘ghost guns’ are capable of firing if assembled with the correct mechanical components. During the search, a ‘front-firing’ 22-calibre flare gun was also found, along with 42 blank cartridges. Alongside the production of 3D-printed weapon parts, the 27-year-old had been preparing doses of narcotics, many of which were synthetic. In the bedroom, hidden inside a locked metal box, the police found and seized 163 grams of ketamine, 93.5 grams of hashish, 6.3 grams of the same substance, 0.4 grams of MDMA, 0.3 grams of ‘jungle spice’ and 3.5 grams of cannabis. To prepare the doses, the man used a precision electronic balance, baking paper and plastic sachets. The 27-year-old kept a record of the income from his drug-dealing activities in a notebook, noting down figures and the names of his customers. The police also found two knives with blades coated in hashish, a further precision balance and €5,630 in cash, believed to be the proceeds of the illegal activity.