ROME - A forty-year-old man has been arrested for trying to smuggle drugs that he bought using money given to him by the state as part of Italy’s new Citizenship Income scheme into prison to give to his incarcerated girlfriend.

 The man, known as Gino B., was apprehended in Rebibbia after sniffer dogs raised the alarm, police finding large quantities of hashish in the man’s underwear. Gino B. later confessed to wanting to handover the drugs, a birthday present for his girlfriend, as they embraced during visiting hours at the prison in the north-eastern suburb.

 Gino B. later confessed to prosecuting judges that he had purchased the drugs in large part thanks to the 1,000 euros he receives every month from the Citizenship Income scheme, a flagship policy introduced this year by the coalition government.

 The event will likely raise further eyebrows about the scheme after Il Messaggero revealed that, before the Court of Cassation swiftly moved to completely outlaw the drug, recipients of the state grant would have been able to use the money to legally purchase cannabis.

ea