The Penitentiary Police raised the alarm: a drone was flying over the Salerno prison. The report immediately triggered a joint intervention by the Carabinieri of the Operations and Radiomobile Unit of the Salerno Company and personnel from the Flying Squad of the Salerno Police Headquarters.
The officers quickly identified two men in a car parked in the immediate vicinity of the prison: Giulio Del Giudice and Massimo La Rocca.
The escape and the crash
Upon seeing the patrols, the two attempted to flee. Their escape, however, was short-lived: their car crashed into another parked vehicle, ending their pursuit. In a desperate attempt to get rid of the evidence, the arrested individuals had already thrown several packages out of the window during the chase, but those, too, were recovered by the officers.
The seizure: drugs, phones and drone equipment
The seizure resulted in a significant amount. The two men were in possession of approximately 800 grams of hashish, 120 grams of cocaine, and 15 grams of crack cocaine. They also possessed a precision scale, three smartphones with SIM cards and chargers, and drug packaging materials.
Technical equipment for the transportation of narcotics by drone
The picture that emerges, according to the judicial police reconstruction signed by prosecutor Rocco Alfano, is that of an organized system to supply inmates, bypassing security checks from above.
Giulio Del Giudice and Massimo La Rocca were arrested on charges of possession with intent to distribute narcotics. The operation confirms the growing use of drones as a tool to smuggle drugs and communication devices into prisons, a phenomenon that Campania law enforcement agencies are monitoring with increasing attention.
I don't agree with everything, but I'm not surprised either. The situation seems very complicated to me: the drones cause many problems, and the police don't always react. The arrests seem justified, but many doubts remain about the checks and how the inmates receive packages. More controls are needed.