https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Damiano David, the frontman of Italy's Eurovision winners Maneskin, has passed a drug test he took on Monday to clear his name after speculation that he had snorted cocaine at the song contest's grand final. https://www.thelocal.it/20210524/italian-eurovision-winner-tests-negative-for-drugs Mon, 24 May 2021 20:50:33 +0200 italian-eurovision-winner-tests-negative-for-drugs The singer for Italy's Eurovision Song Contest winning band Måneskin will take a voluntary drug test after speculation arose over a video clip of his behaviour at the competition, organisers said Sunday. https://www.thelocal.it/20210523/italys-eurovision-winning-singer-to-take-voluntary-drug-test-after-viral-clip Sun, 23 May 2021 17:49:55 +0200 italys-eurovision-winning-singer-to-take-voluntary-drug-test-after-viral-clip A major Italian mafia fugitive who controlled cocaine routes within Europe has been returned by authorities to Rome from Spain, police said on Saturday. https://www.thelocal.it/20210515/spanish-police-return-italian-mafia-fugitive-to-italy-after-three-years-on-the-run Sat, 15 May 2021 12:56:02 +0200 spanish-police-return-italian-mafia-fugitive-to-italy-after-three-years-on-the-run A tip from an Italian grandmother hoping to save her grandson from drugs helped lead police to dismantle a mafia drug ring operating in the southern Calabria region, authorities said Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20210310/ndrangheta-grandma-tips-off-police-to-bring-down-calabrian-mafia Wed, 10 Mar 2021 17:03:43 +0100 ndrangheta-grandma-tips-off-police-to-bring-down-calabrian-mafia The head of Italy's Senate has blocked the legalisation of a weaker form of cannabis, in a last-minute reversal of a bill approved by parliament last week. https://www.thelocal.it/20191217/italys-senate-blocks-the-legalisation-of-cannabis-light Tue, 17 Dec 2019 13:18:01 +0100 italys-senate-blocks-the-legalisation-of-cannabis-light Italy's parliament voted to legalize the production and sale of a weaker form of cannabis this week, ending months of uncertainty for farmers and sellers. https://www.thelocal.it/20191213/italy-legalizes-cannabis-light Fri, 13 Dec 2019 17:05:51 +0100 italy-legalizes-cannabis-light Wild boar snuffling in the forests of eastern Tuscany dug up and destroyed a €20,000 stash of cocaine buried by drug dealers, police said. https://www.thelocal.it/20191113/wild-boar-sniff-out-and-destroy-cocaine-stash-hidden-in-tuscan-forest Wed, 13 Nov 2019 12:15:11 +0100 wild-boar-sniff-out-and-destroy-cocaine-stash-hidden-in-tuscan-forest Brazilian police on Monday arrested two Italian men suspected of belonging to the South American arm of the Italian mafia 'Ndrangheta, officials said. https://www.thelocal.it/20190709/two-italian-ndrangheta-suspects-arrested-in-brazil Tue, 09 Jul 2019 11:29:55 +0200 two-italian-ndrangheta-suspects-arrested-in-brazil The sale of cannabis derivatives is a crime under Italian law, Italy's top court has ruled. Here's what the decision means for all those who've become used to buying and selling 'legal weed'. https://www.thelocal.it/20190531/is-selling-cannabis-light-illegal-in-italy Fri, 31 May 2019 15:52:27 +0200 is-selling-cannabis-light-illegal-in-italy Spanish police said Tuesday they had broken up a violent branch of Italy's Camorra crime group which they believe stole hashish from rival drug traffickers in Spain and then transported it to Rome in motorhomes. https://www.thelocal.it/20190205/spanish-police-strike-blow-to-camorra-crime-network Tue, 05 Feb 2019 14:41:10 +0100 spanish-police-strike-blow-to-camorra-crime-network Italian police have seized over two tonnes of pure cocaine from Colombia in Italy’s biggest drugs bust in 25 years. https://www.thelocal.it/20190131/italy-thwarts-colombian-cartel-with-massive-cocaine-haul Thu, 31 Jan 2019 14:02:12 +0100 italy-thwarts-colombian-cartel-with-massive-cocaine-haul A prisoner who had been allowed to briefly visit his family outside the prison was later found carrying drugs in his stomach. https://www.thelocal.it/20190102/inmate-who-smuggled-in-drugs-to-italian-prison-in-his-intestines-caught-by-sniffer-dogs Wed, 02 Jan 2019 18:50:10 +0100 inmate-who-smuggled-in-drugs-to-italian-prison-in-his-intestines-caught-by-sniffer-dogs Thousands of Italians are flocking to illegal free public screenings of a new film about a young man's 2009 death in custody, a potent symbol of police violence and a merciless penal system. https://www.thelocal.it/20180919/sulla-mia-pelle-on-my-skin-italy-police-brutality-film-stefano-cucchi-netflix Wed, 19 Sep 2018 14:08:47 +0200 sulla-mia-pelle-on-my-skin-italy-police-brutality-film-stefano-cucchi-netflix The town of Ceriano Laghetto is at the heart of a drugs crisis in Lombardy. The local mayor has tried a spate of measures, but now the council has a new weapon to combat drug abuse and dealers: a 19-year-old viola player. https://www.thelocal.it/20180918/the-tiny-italian-town-fighting-a-drugs-epidemic-with-classical-music Tue, 18 Sep 2018 17:50:09 +0200 the-tiny-italian-town-fighting-a-drugs-epidemic-with-classical-music Brazilian authorities said on Monday August 13th that they seized 1.32 metric tonnes (2,910 pounds) of cocaine aboard an Italian-flagged ship in Brazil's main port of Santos, near Sao Paulo. https://www.thelocal.it/20180814/brazil-seizes-13-tonnes-of-cocaine-on-italian-ship-reportedly-attacked-by-pirates Tue, 14 Aug 2018 11:19:23 +0200 brazil-seizes-13-tonnes-of-cocaine-on-italian-ship-reportedly-attacked-by-pirates Eleven Montenegrins who hid more than 20 tonnes of hashish worth up to 200 million euros ($232 million) in a rescue ship's diesel tanks have been arrested, Italian police said Thursday. https://www.thelocal.it/20180809/italian-police-find-hashish-worth-up-to-200-million-euros-in-fuel-tanks Thu, 09 Aug 2018 20:10:00 +0200 italian-police-find-hashish-worth-up-to-200-million-euros-in-fuel-tanks Police in Mexico have arrested an alleged drug trafficker in connection with the disappearance of three Italians in January, the attorney general's office said on Monday. https://www.thelocal.it/20180731/alleged-drug-trafficker-arrested-in-mexico-over-disappearance-of-three-italians Tue, 31 Jul 2018 12:12:54 +0200 alleged-drug-trafficker-arrested-in-mexico-over-disappearance-of-three-italians The plants, worth an estimated €20 million at market value, were discovered on July 21st in Vibo Valentia in Calabria, southern Italy. https://www.thelocal.it/20180723/italian-police-bust-ndrangheta-cannabis-plantation-with-26000-plants Mon, 23 Jul 2018 19:18:52 +0200 italian-police-bust-ndrangheta-cannabis-plantation-with-26000-plants Italian agents have seized over 10 tonnes of cannabis resin worth up to €20 million in a dramatic high-seas operation, police said on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.it/20180607/italian-police-seize-10-tonnes-of-hashish-on-high-seas Thu, 07 Jun 2018 12:11:30 +0200 italian-police-seize-10-tonnes-of-hashish-on-high-seas Police in southern Italy discovered a greenhouse filled with more than 15,000 cannabis plants when they flew a drone above a Sicilian tomato farm, they announced on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20180502/italy-police-drone-15000-cannabis-plants-tomato-farm Wed, 02 May 2018 15:36:21 +0200 italy-police-drone-15000-cannabis-plants-tomato-farm