On 12 July 2010, General Giampaolo Ganzer was sentenced to a 14-year prison term for drug trafficking.

According to the Milan court, General Ganzer and 13 other high-ranking officers of the carabinieri [1] have been accused of organizing a vast drug running network for their personal gain.

The judges did not retain the charge of "criminal conspiracy" lest such a broad ruling might smear the carabinieri as an institution.

==

[1] The Arma dei Carabinieri (English: Corps of Carabineers) is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both the military and civilian populations. The Carabinieri is now a branch of the armed forces (alongside the Army, Navy and Air Force), thus ending their long standing role as the first corps of the Italian army.