Discovery of a 1,206-plant marijuana plantation in Coassolo Torinese (October 2026)

As part of an investigation into drug and arms trafficking led by the carabinieri of Asti, thirteen searches on 20 October 2026 lead to the discovery, in a warehouse in Coassolo Torinese, of an indoor growing operation of 1,206 marijuana plants worth over a million euros.

On 20 October 2026 carabinieri from the Asti Investigative Unit, coordinated by the local public prosecutor's office, carry out thirteen searches between Asti, several municipalities in the province and Coassolo Torinese, in the Turin area.¹²

In a warehouse located in a wooded area of Coassolo Torinese, an indoor growing operation of 1,206 marijuana plants, at various stages of flowering, is discovered, fitted with lighting, ventilation and heating systems. The officers estimate the production's value on the illegal market at over a million euros.¹²³

The structure's high power consumption, revealed by an illegal tap into the grid and estimated at between 80 and 100 kilowatt-hours a day, helped lead to the operation being identified. The warehouse and equipment are seized, and the plantation's alleged custodian, an Albanian national resident in Asti, is arrested and transferred to the Ivrea district prison, at the disposal of the local public prosecutor's office.¹²³

In the homes of two other suspects, officers found, respectively, a limited quantity of drugs and a hundred rounds of ammunition for a firearm.¹²⁴

The 20 October operation is part of an investigation opened by the Asti carabinieri in January 2026 into a group suspected of drug and arms trafficking. On 20 April 2026 officers had arrested a 47-year-old Albanian national resident in Asti, seizing from his properties around 22 kilograms of cocaine, five pistols of stolen origin (one with its serial number filed off), a homemade silencer, more than 200 rounds of ammunition, including some war-grade rounds, and equipment for weighing and packaging the drug. On 21 July 2026 five more Albanian nationals had been identified and reported for their involvement in the same activities.¹²

Sources

1. Droga e armi, i carabinieri scoprono una piantagione con 1.206 piante di marijuana a Coassolo — TorinoOggi, 23 October 2026
2. Coassolo Torinese, scoperta una piantagione di marijuana con oltre 1.200 piante — Quotidiano Piemontese, 23 October 2026
3. Gigantesca serra scoperta a Coassolo Torinese: oltre 1.200 piante di marijuana, del valore di oltre un milione di euro — TorinoToday, 23 October 2026
4. Oltre 1.200 piante di marijuana in un capannone nel Torinese: il valore supera il milione di euro — CronacaQui Torino, 23 October 2026