Carabinieri have dismantled a large marijuana plantation in Irpinia in an operation named “Silva Densa,” coordinated by the Avellino Prosecutor’s Office.
The operation was carried out by the Carabinieri of Mirabella Eclano, with support from colleagues in Montella and from the Naples Provincial Command.
According to IrpiniaNews, the plantation contained about 80 marijuana plants, between 2 and 4 metres tall. The cultivation used an irrigation and fertilisation system drawing water from the nearby Calore riverbed.
On 30 September, a 45-year-old man from Somma Vesuviana was arrested in flagrante delicto in San Mango sul Calore while removing inflorescences from the plants.
Investigators subsequently identified a second suspect, a 54-year-old man also from Somma Vesuviana, as the alleged organiser, caretaker and beneficiary of the plantation.
The estimated yield from the plantation exceeded 11 quintals of narcotics, with a reported potential value of more than €400,000. This figure is described as an estimate of the expected yield.
In a related search, more than 17 kilograms of marijuana leaves in the drying phase were found inside an abandoned rural building in Chiusano San Domenico.
Those investigated are legally presumed innocent until a final judgment.
