Police in Casamicciola Terme on the island of Ischia arrested a 27-year-old man already known to police on suspicion of possessing drugs for sale.[1][2] Officers of the Ischia police station, led by deputy commissioner Daria Alfieri, stopped him on the evening of Saturday 7 November as he came out of a small cellar, a cantinola, in the La Rita area.[1][2]

The search of his person found a packet of about seven grams of cocaine and 170 euros in cash.[1] Police then searched the cellar and seized about one kilogram of cocaine, 315 grams of marijuana and more than seven kilograms of hashish.[1][2] Officers also found two precision scales, two knives with blades soaked in drug substance, a vacuum-packing machine and other material for preparing doses.[1] Investigators cited the weighing and packing equipment and the size of the haul when they accused him of possessing drugs for sale.[1]

The haul of 315 grams of marijuana and more than seven kilograms of hashish, about 7.3 kilograms of cannabis in all, was the largest part of a seizure the newspaper put at more than eight kilograms across all substances.[3] NapoliToday and Teleischia described the man as having previous police records and reported that officers noticed him because he was behaving suspiciously.[4] Lo Strillone reported that investigators regarded the cellar as a depot used to store and prepare drugs, and that the seized cocaine, hashish and marijuana were recovered there.[2]

The arrest followed an ordinary patrol of the territory, and police described the seizure as a significant one for the island.[1] The Ischia force said the operation was part of its prevention work against drug dealing on the island.[5]