About 150 packs of pills and sachets, from different brands but all traceable to Viagra-like medicines. Some were displayed on the counter, while other items were kept in a fridge in the back room. That is what Rimini’s local police found during a new inspection of a business already in their sights five years ago.
As a result, the shopkeeper now faces a new report to the judicial authorities without arrest. It is a story that keeps repeating itself, coming just a few months after a Rimini court handed down a conviction for similar facts: four months in prison and an €8,000 fine.
This time, the investigation was triggered by reports from local residents, who reportedly alerted officers that illegal sales had resumed inside the shop. The local police’s judicial unit then organised a plain-clothes inspection.
The operation took place around 11am on Friday, 28 August. Officers entered the shop and, once inside, the owner voluntarily handed over the material on display, making a formal search unnecessary.
That was when the count of the goods began. In the end, officers recovered and seized about 150 packs of pills and sachets. Some were placed directly on the counter, while in the back of the shop local police found a fridge holding further packs that needed to be kept at low temperatures.
The findings led to a new report being filed against the shopkeeper. The charges concern the sale of unauthorised medicines, as well as issues related to the unlawful practice of medicine and the unauthorised import and administration of drugs.
For officers, however, that shop was no stranger to them. The first intervention dates back to January 2021, when the judicial unit began monitoring the business after noticing an unusual flow of customers — people who would enter, stay inside for just a few minutes, and then leave.
A subsequent inspection uncovered an even more elaborate setup. Officers seized more than 180 pills and discovered a sort of makeshift laboratory in the back room. Inside, they also found syringes and vials used to administer the products.
That investigation led to criminal proceedings which concluded only a few months ago. In February, the Rimini court sentenced the shopkeeper to four months in prison and an €8,000 fine.
Five years after the first raid, local police have therefore returned to the same shop. This time, the count stopped at around 150 seized packs. The case files have been forwarded to the judicial authorities, who will now have to assess the shopkeeper’s new position.
The man is currently under investigation, and any criminal liability will have to be established during proceedings, in accordance with the presumption of innocence until a final conviction, if any.
