‘Operation Shaman’ in S. Benedetto del Tronto of the Carabinieri
(ANSA) – ANCONA, 09 JUL – Over 250 Peyote cacti, which grow in the desert areas of Mexico, famous for their psychotropic abilities due to the content of mascalina, a psychedelic alkaloid used in shamanic rites by Native Americans, then very widespread in the years’ 70, were seized by the soldiers of the Cites Carabinieri Group of Rome – Operational Department, together with colleagues from the Cites Nuclei of Fermo and Ancona and the Forestry Carabinieri Stations of Fermo and Ancona. A 42-year-old with a clean record from San Benedetto del Tronto has been arrested. for the possession and cultivation of plants considered narcotic substances by national legislation. The cacti of the genus Lophophora, 253 in all, were hidden in a greenhouse in the appurtenances of the prisoner’s home.
Another 53 specimens of endangered cacti, protected by the Washington Convention (Cites), illegally detained without any documentation of their origin, were also seized in the ‘Shaman’ operation and also 4 terrestrial tortoises, also without documentation on the regular detention. The Sambenedettese was therefore also charged with the crime envisaged by the CITES legislation, punishable by a fine of up to 200 thousand euros or a year of arrest. For the recognition of protected plants, the military made use of the advice of one of the leading experts on cacti and succulent plants in Italy. Investigations are underway to ascertain the amount of traffic carried out by the 42-year-old, initially placed under house arrest by order of the Public Prosecutor of Ascoli Piceno. The arrest was validated by the investigating judge of Ascoli Piceno, who after the interrogation and in relation to the fact that the man is cleansed decided to free him.
(ANSA).