The cocaine recovered from the sea in Lampedusa has led to the release of the 11 individuals detained.

Last Updated: July 23, 2023

La cocaina ripescata nel mare di Lampedusa, scarcerati gli 11 fermati

#Agrigento
No prison, but obligation to report to the judicial police and house arrest. The investigating judge of the Agrigento court, Micaela Raimondo, did not validate the 11 detentions against the suspects – all from Lampedusa and 4 Senegalese – in the anti-drug operation “Zefiro” carried out by the carabinieri on Wednesday. Both with the obligation to report to the judicial police and with the house arrest, the judge deemed the risks of flight and repetition of the offense neutralized, which were the reasons for the detention order, signed by prosecutor Giulia Sbocchia.

Only Giovanni Blandina, due to his advanced age, was placed under house arrest. All the others, following the detention, had been taken to prison instead. According to the judge, there are “serious indications of guilt,” as well as the “risk of evidence tampering.” Vincenzo Di Maggio, Sana Sarr, Waly Sarr, Mbaye Ibrahima, and Gningue Doudon will have to report to the judicial police every day of the week; Vincenzo Lo Verde, instead, twice a week.

House arrest in their respective municipalities for Vincenzo Barbera, Tony Sparma, Nicola Minio, Jacopo Blandina, and Giovanni Blandina. The carabinieri’s anti-drug operation “Zefiro” was a natural continuation of the “Levante” blitz last February. The blitz was triggered following the arrest, carried out by the military police of Agrigento, of Ignazio Umberto Blandina who was found in possession, and it was the largest drug seizure ever made on the island of Lampedusa, with approximately 25 kilograms of cocaine.