Sant'Antonio Abate: A 20-year-old man under house arrest for dealing cocaine and crack cocaine.

A twenty-year-old man, a native of Pompeii and resident of Sant'Antonio Abate, has been placed under house arrest with an electronic bracelet and an absolute ban on communicating with anyone outside his immediate family. The order was issued by the preliminary investigations judge of the Torre Annunziata Court at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office and executed this morning by Carabinieri from the NORM Operational Section of the Castellammare di Stabia Company.

The suspect is charged with illicit possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking and continued supply. The investigation, coordinated by the Oplonti Prosecutor's Office, began with a search conducted on July 3 of a dilapidated and uninhabited rural building in Sant'Antonio Abate. Inside a portable safe hidden among the garbage, officers found approximately 186 grams of cocaine and crack cocaine, as well as four precision scales and small pots used to weigh, refine, and package the doses.

Subsequent investigations, based on the analysis of private video surveillance footage in the area, documented the suspect's systematic concealment and removal of the packages, apparently using the abandoned building to evade searches. A house search later uncovered the same clothing and accessories seen in the videos, while a large tattoo on the man's right arm matched the one visible in the footage during the drug collection operations.

According to investigators, the retail drug dealing activity continued continuously in the local area between January and August 2026, as confirmed by statements from people familiar with the matter and by photographic evidence. During preliminary questioning before the investigating judge, the suspect admitted the charges.

The proceedings are still in the preliminary investigation phase. The precautionary measure can be appealed before the Court of Review and, based on the principle of presumption of innocence, the suspect cannot be considered guilty until a final conviction has been handed down.