25 arrested, 327 under investigation and over 60.000 identified - 7 tons of granulated copper and 40 tons of ferrous materials recovered - 235.000 euros of high fines for illegal waste management - Controls intensified with the "High Impact" operation
25 arrested, 327 suspects and 60.075 identified: this is the balance of the first 10 days of July of the Railway Police. 5.209 patrols at the station and 65 on board the train, for a total of 117 escorted trains. 316 anti-picking services and 168 high penalties. 32 unaccompanied minors tracked down and entrusted to families or communities; 179 foreign citizens caught in an irregular position.
Several extraordinary operations were carried out throughout the country, in particular "Red Gold", for the contrast of copper thefts, and "High Impact", for the intensification of controls in the main stations in collaboration with the Police Headquarters.
Over 7 tons of granulated copper and about 40 tons of ferrous materials of various kinds have been recovered within the framework of "Oro Rosso". 80 high administrative penalties for the illegal management of waste for a total amount of approximately 235.000 euros. 683 operators were employed and 300 controlled scrap dealers. 121 patrolling services along the railway lines and 54 on the road.
Controls intensified also thanks to the "High Impact" operation concluded yesterday, which saw the use of 565 operators of the Railway Police and 129 made available by the local Police Headquarters, in the 15 most important stations of the national territory. The extraordinary control activities were carried out with the support of dog units of the State Police and the Guardia di Finanza and the Crime Prevention Departments. The patrols also made use of cutting-edge technologies, in particular smartphones with optical reading for real-time control of documents and metal detectors for the inspection of luggage.
In particular, the Milan Railway Police arrested a 24-year-old Gambian citizen and a 38-year-old French citizen for possession of drugs for drug dealing. The Gambian, stopped for a check, was found in possession of 4 wrappers containing about 4 grams of cocaine, as well as the sum of about 1.000 euros. During the subsequent checks at his home, where the French citizen was, 30 grams of cocaine, cutting substances, a precision balance, packaging material and the sum of 100.000 euros were found. A Chinese citizen was also arrested for drug possession for drug dealing. The same during a check was found in possession of 4 sachets of about 20 grams of methamphetamine, the so-called "shaboo" and about 200 euros. Also in Milan, a 40-year-old Bosnian citizen was arrested for receiving a prison order issued by the Rome Public Prosecutor for a series of crimes, including robbery, theft and receiving stolen goods, having to serve a total sentence of almost 24 years and a a 25-year-old Romanian citizen who is also burdened by a provisional custody order in prison for a period of 1 year and 23 days, for aggravated theft.
A drug courier was arrested by Pofer in Mestre for drug trafficking. The foreigner, a 10-year-old Nigerian, noted by the agents for his suspicion, was arrested after getting off a train coming to Verona. When checking, the man began to show signs of suffering, pressing his stomach several times with his hands. After being accompanied to the police offices, the increasingly painful foreigner said he had ingested eggs containing narcotic substance. Accompanied at the Mestre Hospital, he underwent surgery. A total of 2 cocaine-containing eggs were recovered for a total weight of about one and a half grams. Also in Mestre, a thirty-two-year-old Iraqi man was found responsible for two aggravated robberies committed in April in Milan. During the Polfer control, the man was the recipient of a prison order of custody issued by the Court of Milan, therefore he was associated with the Venice prison.
In Bologna, an eighteen year old Italian was arrested for detention of drugs for drug dealing. The scent of the anti-drug dog of the Guardia di Finanza has allowed a modest amount of hash to be found on the young man. Extended the control at the home of the boy, about 8 hectograms of amazing substance of various kinds were found, then subjected to seizure. The investigations also led to another young teenager's report of freedom for the same crimes. Also in Bologna, thanks to a flash investigation by the agents of the Railway Police, three young men, two men and a woman, were reported for production and drug dealing. Eight pots of marijuana plants, as well as glass jars containing marijuana and hashish, were found at their home and seized, for a total weight of over six ounces. Another subject, a 8-year-old Moroccan, was instead arrested for being responsible for the theft of a work bag against a worker inside the central station.
Two foreigners of Moroccan origin aged 24 and 28 were arrested at the Santa Maria Novella station in Florence for aggravated theft. The two men, with the complicity of a third, yet to be identified, were blocked by the agents after having slipped from the pants of a traveler waiting to get on the tramway, the wallet from the front pocket of the pants. From subsequent checks, one of the two criminals was also reported for receiving stolen goods, as he was found in possession of a prepaid card headed to an Italian citizen whose provenance he was unable to provide.
In Rome Termini, a man showed up at the police offices declaring that he had escaped from house arrest. The forty-eight year old Italian citizen said he could not resist the temptation of a love flight to reach his partner from Cosenza to Rome.
A 27-year-old Algerian citizen was arrested at Crotone station for aggravated theft. The foreigner, after having entered the parking lot of the railway yard and having turned the parked cars upside down, was blocked by the operators while trying to escape with the stolen goods.
The Bari Railway Police, together with the police units of the State Police, denounced a twenty-year-old from Puglia for the possession of narcotic substances. The operators, alerted by the anti-drug dog, ZATLAN, decided to stop her for a check and in the backpack she was carrying, tens of grams of marijuana were found, well hidden, divided into 15 doses packaged in cellophane bags. Again thanks to Zatlan's sense of smell, the operators, on the same day, rescued a hedgehog of land that had become stuck under the wheel arch of a self-propelled trolley used for travel by railway workers.
In the Taranto railway station, however, Polfer agents, together with WWF operators, rescued an injured barn owl from a wing that was dragging itself between the pebbles of the tracks, risking being run over by convoys.
Among the stories with a happy ending, in Cassino, Polfer operators have avoided a tragedy. The agents, after being notified by the Operating Room of the presence of a man who, sitting on the edge of the platform with his legs inside the railway station, threw stones at anyone who tried to approach him, managed to calm him down and deliver him to the care of medical staff. While in Barletta, a 49-year-old Italian woman who had gone to the station with the intent to commit suicide by jumping under a train was saved. Traced by the agents while running towards an arriving convoy, she was blocked and entrusted to the care of the medical staff.