On 20 October 2026 the investigative unit of the Asti provincial Carabinieri, directed by the Asti prosecutor’s office, executed 13 search warrants in Asti, nearby communes and Coassolo Torinese as part of an inquiry into an Albanian-origin group linked to drugs and arms.[1][2]
In a shed in a wooded, hard-to-reach area of Coassolo Torinese, with Venaria Reale company support, officers found an indoor marijuana plantation with lighting and ventilation.[1][2] They counted 1,206 plants at different flowering stages and put the illicit-market value at more than one million euros.[1][2]
They arrested a man they called the caretaker, an Albanian resident of Asti, and took him to Ivrea prison; the shed and equipment were seized.[1][2] National-grid staff said an illegal tap fed climate gear that used about 80 to 100 kilowatt-hours a day.[1][2]
The same inquiry had already produced a 20 April 2026 arrest with about 22 kilograms of cocaine and weapons in Asti, and five further people reported in July.[1][2] Two other people searched in October face inquiry over a small drug find and 100 rounds of ammunition.[1][2]
