Brescia Toll Booths: Law Enforcement Challenges and Nighttime Operations

Passage of criminals fleeing in stolen cars, a hub of drug trafficking, an unavoidable route for young people who, often a bit “drunk,” return from the disco at dawn. Furthermore, it serves as a privileged exit point for Lombard professionals seeking nightlife and “adventures” on Lake Garda, or simply as a meeting point or exit for tourists.

In any case, of course, it is a key point for law enforcement checks: every kind of person passes through the Brescian highway tolls. And the toll operators are there, unyielding, observing. But can they, in case of emergency, report suspicious crossings or overly euphoric groups? “Bresciaoggi” tried, for one night, to see what happens from the other side of the glass.

In a particularly hot spot: the Desenzano exit. Accompanying and watching over is Onelio Cordioli, 50 years old, station manager. There are three shifts, each lasting eight hours. The toll booth also has three exit points. One operator checks the Telepass, while another is available: the team varies depending on traffic.

Sometimes the situation can be predicted; other times, it takes you by surprise. A fair in Verona, Vinitaly, the Mille Miglia in Brescia, a gathering of Alpini within one hundred kilometers — and it’s an emergency. The last instance — explains Onelio Cordioli — was during the Frecce Tricolori display at Ghedi. And then, a trip to the lake is in many tourists’ plans, as Desenzano is the gateway to the lake.

Checks and emergency situations

Therefore, to bring us back to the present, expecting the toll collector to also act as an “observer” and signaler is pure utopia. But night-time is the peak period, especially when discos open. Young people go to Fura, Genux, Art, and for Mazoom, they go out to Sirmione.

It’s said that when police raids happen, there’s a stampede, and ecstasy tablets are everywhere in the toll plaza — agents fill large containers as big as shoeboxes. But at the station, can they call the police if they notice something strange? Here’s the first surprise. Nothing can be done; the phone is inside, but communication with the control center is possible via radio bridge.

But what if a Mercedes passes that has all the characteristics of a stolen car? The only option is to log the passage, nothing more. “But the police — we’re told — patrol the highway constantly.” It’s their job. A job far from easy, considering that on the Milan-Venice axis, amidst tourists, salespeople, and truck drivers, small and large criminals travel — from Albanians of the infamous luxury car gang to drug couriers.

And Desenzano is often a privileged outlet. But it is still late afternoon. For now, other problems arise. Foreigners arrive without tickets. They must stop at the Service Center and fill out a form with their details and those of their vehicle, explaining why they are traveling without a ticket.

“They should pay at the furthest toll, around 80,000 lire, but it won’t happen.” They entered Bergamo, are English, both in their seventies, and apologize. They promise to be careful, fill out the form, and eventually pay the Bergamo toll.