Italian policeman stabbed to death ‘by US students’ after cocaine deal goes wrong, Rome officials say
Newlywed Carabinieri officer allegedly knifed eight times in drug deal gone wrong
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Your support makes all the difference.Two US students have admitted stabbing a policeman to death in Rome after an alleged drug deal went wrong, Italian officals say.
Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, a deputy brigadier in the Carabinieri, was allegedly stabbed eight times while investigating the theft of a bag on Friday.
Two men are said to have snatched a bag from a drug dealer in Rome after he gave them a “different substance” instead of cocaine, according to an Italian investigator who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The thieves demanded a €100 (£90) ransom and a gram of cocaine in return for the bag, the Carabinieri said.
The alleged drug dealer then called the police and told them he had arranged a meeting with the thieves to get his bag and mobile phone back.
Police say there was a scuffle at the agreed meeting point and Mr Cerciello Rega was stabbed eight times, dying a short while later in hospital.
CCTV cameras caught the two men running away with the bag and the two Americans were later found in a nearby hotel.
Police said the two students were “ready to leave” Italy when they were found.
The men, whose names have not been released, were arrested for alleged murder and attempted extortion and questioned overnight.
Police said officers found a long knife hidden in the panel of their hotel room during a search.
They also found clothes that the two men were thought to have been wearing during the attack.
A statement released by the Carabinieri said the two Americans admitted responsibility after being questioned by prosecutors and faced with “hard evidence”.
Mr Cerciello Rega worked as a deputy brigadier in the Carabinieri, Italy’s paramilitary police.
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini offered his condolences on Twitter, describing him as “a hero, a boy with all his life ahead”.
Mr Cerciello Rega’s station commander, Sandro Ottaviani, said the policeman had only just returned from his honeymoon after getting married five weeks ago.
Colleagues and charities praised the generosity of the officer, who would often check on the homeless living in Rome’s main train station and helping to hand out meals and clothing.
Associated Press contributed to this report.