Gambiaj.com – (Caserta, Italy) – Three West African nationals from The Gambia, Senegal, and Mali have been arrested in San Nicola la Strada, Italy, following a targeted anti-drug operation by the Carabinieri, the country’s national military police. The suspects were caught in the act of selling hashish in the municipal villa at Largo Rotonda—a public area that has become a hotspot in the ongoing crackdown on street-level narcotics.

The arrests are the result of a pre-planned surveillance and shadowing operation by officers from the San Nicola la Strada station, part of the Caserta Company.

According to authorities, the three men—a 31-year-old Gambian who was already under a residence ban in the province of Caserta, a 31-year-old Malian, and a 26-year-old Senegalese—were observed making two separate hashish sales to individual buyers.

A total of 3 grams of the drug were sold during these transactions, and the buyers were later reported to the local Prefecture as users.

Upon arrest, a personal search revealed additional narcotics and paraphernalia. Officers seized a jar containing 47 grams of hashish, which the Malian suspect attempted to discard during an attempted escape. The police also confiscated €140 in cash, believed to be the proceeds from drug sales.

In a more disturbing twist, the Gambian national was found in possession of a 10 cm folding knife that had been dipped in hashish. The weapon was seized, and he was additionally charged with carrying a weapon capable of causing harm.

All three men were taken into custody and are now being held at the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison, pending further investigation and judicial proceedings.