Two men in their thirties, both described as of Albanian origin, were placed under suspect detention by the Carabinieri of the Fara in Sabina station on suspicion of jointly cultivating and illegally holding large quantities of drugs.[1][2] The two men presented themselves spontaneously at the barracks on 30 October accompanied by their trusted lawyer.[1][2] After the procedures they were taken to prison at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor of Rieti.[3] The case was still in the preliminary-investigation phase, with any criminal responsibility to be established in later stages.[1]

Carabinieri from Fara in Sabina, together with colleagues from the Passo Corese station, had located the unauthorised plantation on 14 October on uncultivated and difficult terrain in the municipality.[1][2] Officers uprooted and seized 550 flowering cannabis plants, which the Carabinieri estimated at a total weight of about 600 kilograms.[1][2] The Carabinieri said the large plantation was hidden among the mountainous reliefs of Fara Sabina.[4] Officers also found an elaborate irrigation system in the area used to tend and grow the crop.[1][5]

The operation was part of extraordinary territorial checks aimed at countering the production and trafficking of drugs in the Sabina area.[4]