The police had “followed” the suspicious wrapping until it was handed over to the 42-year-old resident in the hills of Friuli
UDINE. A courier delivered a liter of the so-called “rape drug” or liquid ecstasy at home, which had been shipped from Holland. And another liquid of the same type (banned in Italy and included in the drug tables defined by the Ministry of Health) was found in his home. For this reason, on 9 July a 42-year-old Friulian, residing in the hills of Friuli, was arrested by the Udine Mobile Squad on charges of detention for the purpose of selling gamma butyrolactone acid (Ghl), a precursor of Ghb, the gamma-hydroxybutyric acid into which it changes in the body after being ingested.
On July 8, the police had learned that a suspicious package, precisely because of its content, was directed at the man who, among other things, is already known by the police. The agents witnessed the delivery, which took place at 9 am on Friday 9 July. At that point the investigators – led by Deputy Commissioner Massimiliano Ortolan – intervened, opened the package and requested an investigation on the contents from the Scientific Police Cabinet of Padua. Subsequently, once it was ascertained that it was the substance just described, the seizure was triggered.
The checks also made it possible to find a smaller bottle in which there was a liquid similar to the one just received by the shipper, a few grams of marijuana and a precision slingbar. At the end of the validation hearing, which was held on the morning of Monday 12 July, the magistrate of the court of Udine validated the arrest and ordered the release and the precautionary measure of house arrest.
The “rape drug”, as stated in a note released by the Udine police headquarters, «is so called because it has been used several times to eliminate the inhibitions of the victims, up to the point of numbness, thus leading to real sexual violence. The substance is colorless and almost completely tasteless: a few drops mixed with a normal drink are not in the least perceived by those who ingest the substance and risk making a person easy prey for an attacker ».