Operation Box kicks off in Rome, with arrests for drug trafficking and possession of clandestine weapons: a cartel in the capital has been dismantled. From the first light of dawn, in the provinces of Rome (RM) and Brindisi (BR), the Carabinieri of the Provincial Carabinieri Command of Rome, together with the territorially competent Weapon Command, was in fact carried out a precautionary custody order issued by the GIP at the Court of Rome, at the request of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of the local Public Prosecutor’s Office, against 13 people, held responsible, in various capacities, for dealing in concurrent drugs, receiving stolen goods, detention and carrying a firearm in a public place . The restrictive measure is based on the findings acquired by the Carabinieri of the “Via in Selci” Investigation Unit as part of the investigation conventionally called “BOX”, conducted through technical and dynamic activities in the years 2016 and 2017. The criminal proceedings originate from a ‘police operation which, on 30.04.2016, culminated with the seizure of kg. 35 of hashish-type substance found inside a box, located in the “Infernetto” area, found to be in the possession of a former member of the Carabinieri, arrested in execution of a precautionary custody order on 24 March. Against the same, accused of drug offenses, the Administration, already in 2016, promptly adopted administrative measures for the termination of any employment relationship as the hierarchical scale immediately ascertained the serious illicit behaviors put in place by the military during the performance of the service, without the need to wait for the definition of the matter in a criminal context. The subsequent investigative investigations made it possible to identify the main members of the association, the latter in contact with traffickers of Apulian origin and with subjects domiciled in Spain and active in the drug trafficking sector.The investigations have allowed us to demonstrate the uninterrupted operation, in the Municipality of Rome-Capital, of a group of Italian subjects permanently dedicated to the activity of marketing large quantities of substances of the types cocaine, hashish and marijuana , in favor of the market squares of the “La Rustica” neighborhoods, ” Ponte di Nona “,” Acilia “and the Roman coast. In this criminal context it was ascertained that the suspects, for the supply of the narcotic, had in several circumstances turned to exponents belonging to the Brindisi organized crime, making trips to that province to define the delicate negotiations in person. One of the prominent personalities operating in Puglia appears to have been, in the meantime, sentenced by the Criminal Court of Ioannina (Greece) to 15 years of imprisonment, following his arrest, on 19.03.2018, for drug trafficking in what was found in possession of kg. 27 of cocaine while trying to import this quantity into Italy In summary, the investigations allowed to reconstruct two imports of large quantities of narcotic, coming from Spain in particular from the city of Malaga, sent by courier services using names of non-existent companies , certify the availability, of some suspects, of clandestine firearms. And arrest 17 people in the act of crime for the sale and possession of drugs, with the consequent seizure of kg. 2 of cocaine, kg. 123 of hashish and kg. 54 of marijuana and 1 person for detention and illegal carrying of a clandestine firearm with the simultaneous seizure of a drum pistol cal. 22 with serial number abraded.One of the largest seizures was carried out on 16.03.2016, when a person was caught in the capital driving a Mercedes van while carrying 53 kg. gross of marijuana-type drug, hidden in 3 chest freezers.