1 arrested as Novara finance police seized 53 kg of hashish
Guardia di Finanza officers in Novara seized 53 kg of hashish and arrested one man during a road check in June 2026, also finding cocaine and marijuana. Forensic analysis of the hashish later identified four synthetic cannabinoids and one semi-synthetic cannabinoid, some hidden in slabs that looked like ordinary hashish.
Financial police in Novara stopped a car during a road check in June 2026 and
seized53 kg of hashish, arresting one man.[1]The same operation also seized
cocaine and marijuana alongside the hashish.[2][3]La Stampa reported that the
operation, presented at the Novara prosecution office, began with that road
check.[4]
Forensic analysis later found five different cannabinoids inside the seized
substance, four fully synthetic and one semi-synthetic.[5][6][7]All five compounds
fall under Table I of Italy’s consolidated narcotics law, the Testo unico sugli
stupefacenti.[5]The investigation was coordinated by Silvia Baglivo, the
acting chief prosecutor of Novara.[8][6]
Officers also found e-cigarettes with THC concentrations close to 90% and THC
sweets during the checks.[5][6]The Novara prosecution said checks were still
under way to prepare alerts for national and international early-warning
systems.[8]Prosecutors said the synthetic cannabinoids act on the same
receptors as THC but can produce stronger and less predictable effects than
traditional cannabis.[8]
Part of the material was in brown slabs outwardly indistinguishable from traditional hashish, while other samples had a gummy or crystalline consistency.[3][6]
The four synthetic compounds belong to the structural-analogue class derived from indazole-3-carboxamide, and the fifth is H4-CBD, a semi-synthetic cannabinoid derived from cannabidiol.[7]Prosecutors said the synthetic cannabinoids act on the same brain receptors as THC but can produce stronger and less predictable effects, including tachycardia, panic attacks and, in the most serious cases, cardiovascular complications up to heart attack.[7]
Photos and video
Part of the hashish seized in Novara in June 2026, shown during the 5 November prosecution briefing in which laboratories reported five cannabinoids in the 53 kg of hashish. Photo: Quotidiano PiemontesePhoto details
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Source: Quotidiano PiemonteseBrown slabs from the Novara seizure, some of them externally indistinguishable from traditional hashish, beside gummy or crystalline samples containing the synthetic cannabinoids. Photo: Quotidiano PiemontesePhoto details
24-second video report on the November briefing at the Novara prosecution office about the hashish contaminated with synthetic cannabinoids. Video: La Stampa Source: La Stampa
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
1
Cannabis
53 kg
Agency type
Police, Prosecutor
Cannabis
Hashish
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
NovaraTodaynovaratoday.itITPanetti di hashish ma dentro ci sono droghe sintetiche: individuati 53 chili a Novara
Giornale La Vocegiornalelavoce.itITSequestrati 53 chili di hashish, ma le analisi svelano una pericolosa sorpresa. La Procura lancia l'allarme sui rischi per la salute
The sources give no exact date in June 2026 for the road check and arrest; 30 June 2026 is a placeholder inside the month stated and must be treated as approximate.
No court outcome or charge detail was reported for the arrested man; the November briefing covered laboratory findings, not the case's progress.
The sources do not say how much of the 53 kg of hashish contained the synthetic cannabinoids, or how the weight divides between the identified compounds.
No separate cocaine or marijuana weights were published, so those substances cannot be quantified and are left out of the figures.
No value, street-price estimate or breakdown of plant-based THC products was published for this seizure.
All five opened articles report the Novara prosecution's presentation and repeat its account; no direct Guardia di Finanza or prosecution statement was opened.
The images on the Quotidiano Piemontese and NovaraToday pages carry no credit and no caption beyond part of the seizure, so they are listed as the outlets' pictures of the haul without an agency credit.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Quotidiano Piemontese: The four synthetic compounds belong to the indazole-3-carboxamide class, and the fifth is H4-CBD, a semi-synthetic cannabinoid derived from cannabidiol.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Quotidiano Piemontese: The analyses were carried out by the interregional scientific police laboratory for Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta, with the drug investigation section of the national scientific police service.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Quotidiano Piemontese: Part of the material was in brown slabs that looked indistinguishable from ordinary hashish, while other samples were gummy or crystalline.
The RaiNews page displays a photograph credited to Guardia di Finanza Novara that is not added here because it could not be confirmed as distinct from the seizure photographs already listed in the report.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in RaiNews: Forensic analysis later found five different cannabinoids inside the seized substance, four fully synthetic and one semi-synthetic.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in RaiNews: The hashish contained four substances in the structural-analogue class derived from indazole-3-carboxamide and a semi-synthetic cannabinoid identified as H4-CBD, derived from cannabidiol.
The page says the operation also seized cocaine and marijuana alongside the hashish, but gives no separate weights, so they cannot be quantified.
Carabinieri of the Gorizia company found a 37-year-old man smoking a joint on the second floor of the disused Albero alla Transalpina in via Giuseppe Caprin on 10 November 2026 and seized more than two grams of marijuana. The man was taken to the company offices and reported to the Prefecture of Gorizia for possession of drugs for personal use; no arrest was reported.
Guardia di Finanza officers stopped a car in Lario Intelvese and recovered 21.2 grams of hashish thrown away by one of five youths. The youth was reported to the judicial authority for possession for dealing and the drugs were seized.
Carabinieri from the Donori station stopped two unemployed 20-year-olds from Ussana in a car and found a small amount of hashish and a packet of benzodiazepine medicines without a prescription. The pair were reported to the administrative authority and the driver lost his licence; nobody was arrested.
Carabinieri stopped a 35-year-old from Rieti at a checkpoint on State Road 4 Salaria by the disused ex Bosi industrial area in Cittaducale and found about 12 grams of hashish, a precision scale and packaging material in his car and home. He was released pending trial and reported to the prosecutor in Rieti on suspicion of holding drugs for sale.
