Caught on the highway with contraband cigarettes and a weapon: reported

Late yesterday evening, June 11, 2019, at approximately 10:10 PM, on the A/30 Caserta-Salerno motorway, a patrol car from the Nola Highway Police Detachment inspected a metallic gray Alfa Romeo 156 model with two passengers on board. The passenger was identified as a 28-year-old man, UD, resident in Salerno but domiciled in Fisciano (SA), while the passenger was a 22-year-old Romanian woman (VMC), resident in the province of Frosinone but domiciled in Fisciano (SA). During the document check, the two individuals immediately showed signs of impatience with the check, and when asked by the police about their presence, they provided various conflicting reasons. A routine check of the SDI revealed that both had a police record, while the vehicle had a negative record. However, given the two individuals' strong state of agitation, the officers decided to conduct a personal and vehicle search of the driver, which yielded positive results. Indeed, a careful inspection inside the vehicle revealed, well hidden in the trunk, two plastic bags, one white and the other red, each containing 17 cartons of Foreign Processed Tobacco cigarettes, for a total of 34 (thirty-four) cartons of TLE cigarettes, each containing 10 (ten) packs. Furthermore, also in the trunk, well hidden among various empty envelopes and various documents, a black "blank-fired" pistol (seized), Bruni brand, model 84, caliber 9 Pak, was recovered with the magazine loaded with four (4) cartridges, without any identification or serial number, and without a red cap. The person searched stated that the gun found was his property and that he had legally purchased it without the red cap. He also stated that the cigarettes had been purchased in the city center of Naples by himself and his partner. The total weight of the cigarettes, conventionally calculated at 0,20 grams per pack, was 6,800 kilograms. In light of the above, both occupants were reported to the competent judicial authority pursuant to former art. 291, paragraph 2, of Law 92/2001, namely transportation or possession of a quantity of cigarettes weighing less than 10 kg and illegal possession of a weapon.