Ears and Eyes

Searchable database of cases of physical surveillance devices (microphones, cameras, location trackers…) hidden by law enforcement and intelligence agencies to surveil people or groups engaged in subversive activities.

Country - Italy (52)
April 2024

A microphone was found in the house of the parents of someone. It was connected to the fridge electrical outlet. It contained a microphone, two antennas and a SIM card.

Sources: (it) ilrovescio.info / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
May 19, 2024
November 2023

A tracking device was found under a car. The battery-powered device was attached with strong magnets under the body of the car, in the rear, just past the bumper.

Sources: (it) disordine.noblogs.org / translations: (fr) sansnom.noblogs.org
Type
Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
November 15, 2023
September 2023

A microphone was found in a house.

Sources: (it) lanemesi.noblogs.org / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
September 30, 2023

A microphone was found in a car. It was hidden inside the vehicle. The night before the device was found, one of the car's windows was broken, a few things inside it were stolen, and four men were seen tampering with the vehicle — the theft was presumably a cover-up for the device installation.

Sources: (it) laburjana.noblogs.org / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Type
Audio
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
August 3, 2023

A GPS tracker and a microphone were found in a car. The device was attached with strong magnets. It contained a SIM card.

1: antenna; 2: connected microphone; 3: power supply positive and negative connections; 4: strong magnets to attach the device to the car; 5: transmitter with SIM card and GPS
Sources: (it) anarkiviu.wordpress.com / translations: (fr) sansnom.noblogs.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
June 15, 2023
November 2022

A microphone was found in a flat in Rome, Italy. It was hidden on the back of the kitchen oven. It was powered by the oven electrical supply, and was also equipped with a battery.

Sources: (it) lanemesi.noblogs.org / translations: (en) actforfree.noblogs.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
October 2022

A microphone was found in an anarchist space. The device was hidden inside a power outlet. It was equipped with a microphone, two antennas, a SIM card, a memory card and a battery.

Sources: (it) infernourbano.altervista.org / translations: (fr) sansnom.noblogs.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
August 2021

A tracking surveillance device and two microphones were found in a car. The tracking device was connected to the power supply of the control unit underneath the steering wheel on the left-hand side. It was attached with a magnet, insulating tape and a heating cloth. The microphones were located at the end of a long cable running along the inside of the internal side pillar linings of the windscreen to the underside of the roof of the car. The tracking device used the GLONASS positioning system, and consisted of an antenna connected to a multi-frequency positioning receiver box containing a micro SIM card.

Sources: (it) malacoda.noblogs.org / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
February 2020

Four microphones were found in a house in Follonica. There was one in each room. They were connected to the electrical system of the house using a transformer and a battery. Each device was equipped with a SIM card and a memory card.

According to the source that reported the discovery of the microphones, they were supplied by the italian company Lutech.

Sources: (it) roundrobin.info / translations: (en) earsandeyes.noblogs.org ; (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
January 2020

Microphones were found in the Anarchist Garage in Pisa. They were connected to the electrical system of the building. The devices were installed as part of an investigation following an arson attack on a vivisection laboratory in Pisa.

According to the source that reported the discovery of the microphones, they were supplied by the italian company Lutech.

Sources: (it) roundrobin.info / translations: (en) earsandeyes.noblogs.org ; (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
August 2019

A microphone and two GPS trackers were found in a vehicle. One of the trackers was attached with a magnet to the rear bumper, on the right side. The other one, along with the microphone, was placed in the air vents which were between the windscreen flap and the windscreen. The first tracker was equipped with an accumulator made of five 3.6V lithium batteries connected in a series, and a SIM card from Omnitel (former name of Vodafone Italia, an Italian operator). The other tracker was equipped with a SIM card from Movistar (Spanish operator). Although the use of an Omnitel card (operator which doesn't exist anymore) and a Spanish card was weird, it seemed these trackers were assembled by the same people and probably installed in the months preceding the discovery.

Sources: (it) roundrobin.info / translations: (en) earsandeyes.noblogs.org ; (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
June 2019

A surveillance device capable of recording images and sound was found during a gathering in front of a jail. The device was located behind a few stones, in a wall along a path, wrapped up in a black garbage bag, next to the place where this kind of gatherings usually happened. It contained a battery, a SD card, a microphone, and a camera hidden behind a rock where a hole had been made. It seemed that the device couldn't send the data, which was stored on the SD card. An analysis of the content of the SD card showed that the device was activated the 3rd of June and installed on the afternoon of the 7th, the day before the gathering.

The pictures of the device show that a digital video recorder of model DK-PV500E, marketed by the italian company DSE (Digital Surveillance Equipment), was part of the device. This suggests that the device was supplied by the italian company DSE.

Sources: (it) autistici.org / translations: (en) earsandeyes.noblogs.org ; (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Types
Audio, Video
Location
Other
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
March 2019

Microphones were found in a squatted house. They were located in the kitchen. Investigation files showed that the audio they recorded was used to prove that the defendants knew each other, often talked together, were preoccupied by the creation by the Italian State of a DNA database and the impossibility to refuse giving a DNA sample, that they discussed a text to publish or chatted about stuff.

Sources: (it) macerie.org / translations: (en) earsandeyes.noblogs.org ; (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
March 2019

Six microphones and a camera were found in a house. The microphones were located in power outlets and switch cases, one above the intercom in the corridor, two other in the living-room, and the three last ones in private bedrooms. The camera was located inside the intercom in the corridor and connected to the microphone above it. Each microphone was equipped with a battery, and, except for the one in the corridor, with a SIM card and a memory card. The camera lens could observe through a small hole already present in the intercom structure and slightly worked on to fit the device.

Types
Audio, Video
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
February 2019

A microphone was found in a car. It was located in the upholstery of the vehicle roof. The device wires were hidden in the isolation case. The device was connected to the car electrical system, so that the bug turned on when the car started. It was connected to a Vodafone SIM card protected by a PIN code.

Sources: (it) csakavarna.org / translations: (en) earsandeyes.noblogs.org ; (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Type
Audio
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
October 2018

Two microphones and a GPS tracker were found in the car of one of the persons under investigation for the 15 September repressive operation (see the sources). Microphones were located above the driver's head, next to the junction of the car roof upholstery and the windscreen. The GPS tracker was located in the fuse box. Everything was powered by a connection to the headlights cable (headlights that were dysfunctional).

Sources: (it) nobordersard.wordpress.com / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
September 2018

Two microphones and a GPS tracker were found inside a car. The microphones were placed inside the upholstery of the car roof, just above the driver's head. The GPS tracker was stuck to the car body with a magnet. The bugs were connected to the car power supply at the level of the pedals, just below the lever that opens the front trunk.

Sources: (it) roundrobin.info / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
June 2018

Two microphones were found at a comrades' house.

Sources: (it) roundrobin.info / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
April 2018

Two microphones, a GPS tracker and a transmitter were found in a car. Everything was positioned on the car body with magnets over the driver's door and linked to an electric cable carrying power to one of the lights inside the car. There was also an additional battery. The microphones were stuck with gum over the driver's and passenger's head seats. The power cable, battery, microphones and GPS were all linked to the transmitter. There was a TIM SIM card inside the transmitter.

Sources: (it) roundrobin.info / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
January 2018

Two microphones were found in the documentation space Il Tribolo. They were hidden inside a power outlet and in the junction box next to it.

Sources: (it) autistici.org / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
January 2018

Two microphones and a GPS tracker were found in a car. There was also a device equipped with an antenna, a SIM card from the TIM provider and a 16 GB memory card. The power cable was connected to the fuse box and to other wires located under the dashboard. Both microphones were located under the upholstery of the car roof and the wires arrived to the power supply through the car door. The magnetized GPS and the cards thingy with the antenna were hidden behind the speedometer. From what could be checked, everything had been placed in the car more than a year before the discovery and the microphones were recording even when the car engine was turned off, in a radius of several meters.

The microphones
A microphone
The GPS
The device with an antenna connected to the microphones and GPS. It also included a SIM and memory card.
1: behind the speedometer; 2: the fuse box
Counterclockwise from top: device with antenna, SIM and memory card; GPS; power cables
Microphones and their power cable
Inside the thingy with antennas and cards (below with a brown outline is the GPS)
Overall view
Sources: (it) roundrobin.info / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
January 2018

A GPS tracker was found in a car. The device was placed in the rear bumper, attached to the car body with magnets. It consisted in removable batteries and a Vodafone SIM card.

Sources: (it) roundrobin.info / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Type
Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
December 2017

Microphones and a GPS tracker were found in a car. The device was placed in the fuse box. The car was having electrical problems (the battery had discharged twice in a month, sign of an abnormal electricity consumption).

Sources: (it) finimondo.org / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
December 2017

A micro-camera was found inside a house. The device was placed in the kitchen/dining room, inside a wall, covered up by mortar, revealing only the hold for the camera's lens.

Sources: (it) anarhija.info / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Type
Video
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
December 2017

Microphones and GPS trackers were found in two cars.

Sources: (it) anarhija.info ; (it) roundrobin.info / translations: (en) web.archive.org ; (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
November 2017

Microphones and GPS trackers were found in a car. The microphones were placed under the upholstery of the car roof, where the windscreen and the sun shields are. In one case the power cables reached beneath the wheel, in the other they were attached to the car lights.

Sources: (it) roundrobin.info / translations: (fr) attaque.noblogs.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
September 2017

A bug was found in an anarchist place inside an electric plug not connected to any network. On one of the edges was the acronym “ABG”.

Sources: (en) web.archive.org ; (fr) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
December 2015

A microphone was found at the Laboratorio Libertario Ligéra. The device was located inside a neon light attached to the ceiling. It consisted in three 9-volts batteries, joined together with insulating tape, with a microphone and antenna at each end.

Sources: (it) anarchicipistoiesi.noblogs.org / translations: (en) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
April 2015

Two microphones were found at a comrades' home. The devices were inside two outlets. Each device consisted in a microphone linked to a transformer and a thingy containing a micro-SIM card.

Sources: (it) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
June 2014

Three microphones coming with cameras were found in the alleys around a squat. The devices were pointing to the different entries of the house.

The pictures of the devices show that the cameras found were marketed by the italian company Elkron, which became a subsidiary of the italian company Urmet in 2012. This suggests that the cameras were supplied by the italian company Elkron.

Sources: (it) contropiano.org / translations: (es) es-contrainfo.espiv.net
Types
Audio, Video
Location
Other
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023

Two microphones and portable scanners watching the Asilo Occupato were found. The microphones were inside the Asilo Occupato, connected to the electrical installation. The portable scanners are in a telecom booth very close to the squat.

The two microphones and the scanners
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
February 2014

Two cameras were found in front of the Asilo Occupato. The devices were concealed in a fake Enel (Italian electricity supplier) electric box attached on the first floor of a building.

The logo of the italian company Gruppo TRS, which was bought in 2012 by the italian company Atet, is visible on the pictures of the devices. This suggests that these devices were supplied by the italian company Atet.

The new case with Pinnocchio sitting on it
Type
Video
Location
Other
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023

Microphones were found in comrades' house.

Sources: (it) web.archive.org / translations: (en) web.archive.org ; (fr) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
February 2013

Four microphones of the GSM type were found in two homes. In the first home, a microphone was placed next to the office where there was a computer (for some time, the loudspeakers connected to this computer were disrupted by an interference similar to the interference of a phone receiving a call), another in the outlet next to the kitchen table, the last one in the bedroom, in the outlet closest to the bed (the outlet cover had been pierced to direct the microphone towards the headboard). In the second home, a microphone was placed in the bedroom, in the outlet closest to the door, which gave onto the kitchen, so that it covered several places. The microphones of the first home were Vodafone mobile phones, with a transformer and antennas with a printed circuit board. The microphone of the second home was an older model, with two transformers and an antenna with a screw.

Sources: (it) web.archive.org / translations: (fr) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
February 2013

Two GSM-type microphones with GPS tracker were found in a car. The devices were placed inside the car ceiling (that hosted the small interior light). It consisted in Vodafone mobile phones, with a transformer and antennas with a printed circuit board. Microphones were pointed towards the front seats.

Sources: (it) web.archive.org / translations: (fr) web.archive.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
October 2012

Two microphones were found in the anarchist space 76/A. The devices were placed in the air vents of the two rooms where gigs and initiatives were held. It consisted in three 9-volt batteries set up in parallel and stuck to a transmitter microphone with tape.

The device was like that when it was found. The microphone is next to the two euros coin and the antenna is at the other end.
The microphone without the tape and with the tip detached
Detail of the emitting antenna with its cover
Detail of the emitting antenna without its cover
Everything dismantled. The batteries were without power.
Sources: (it) web.archive.org / translations: (en) web.archive.org ; (fr) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
September 2012

A listening and geolocation device was found on a scooter. The device components were located in the spare wheel bracket, next to the tank and behind the horn grid. The device was based on a device sold by Telit (an Italian supplier of wireless technologies). The device model was Telit GM862-GPS. It was capable of listening with a microphone, geolocating with a GPS antenna, and transmitting the collected information on the telephone network with a GSM antenna. The device was placed in the spot where the tank is along with a transformer and an accumulator. Both antennas (GPS and GSM) were connected to the device and ended up in the spare wheel bracket. The microphone, also connected to the device, ended up behind the horn grid. Wires connected the device to the scooter starting system. All these components were stuck to the scooter frame by strong magnets secured by tape. This scooter model doesn't have a battery (it dates back to the 1980s) and its engine generates alternating current, hence the presence of a transformer and an accumulator to guarantee the good functioning of this equipment even when the scooter was not moving.

Extra files:
  • Telit-GM862.pdf: product description of the Telit GM862-GPS device (in English).
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023

Four microphones and a camera were found in a house. A microphone was placed behind the fridge, another in the bedroom, another in a beam next to the ceiling light, another in the house entry. A graceful little camera filmed the entry stairs. All were connected through a transformer to the house electrical network.

Sources: (it) web.archive.org / translations: (fr) web.archive.org
Types
Audio, Video
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
May 2012

A camera was found hidden in an air-conditioner inside a school. The camera served to control the entrance of the house of some anarchist comrades under investigation, and had been placed there by plain clothes officers a few weeks before the comrades' house was searched.

Sources: (it) culmine.noblogs.org / translations: (en) web.archive.org
Type
Video
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
January 2011

Microphones and cameras were found in the 400colpi space. A first device was placed in an electrical case, strangely too hot. It consisted, along with a microphone, of a surveillance micro-camera. A second device was placed in an industrial outlet.

The first device
The second device
Sources: (fr) web.archive.org
Types
Audio, Video
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
November 2010

A microphone was found in the Panetteria Occupata inside a closed and sealed electricity meter. It was a microphone with a 300 MHz shortwave transmitter.

Sources: (fr) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
November 2010

Microphones and a micro-camera were found in multiple homes. The devices were found in an amplifier, in the kitchen hood and in a cathode-ray television. The devices had microphones and 300 MHz transmitters with 200-300 meters range. In one case, the device could be activated by remote control (at a distance of hundreds of meters) and in another case it came with a micro-camera linked to a UHF band transmitter of the same range.

Microphone inside the TV set
Microphone inside the cooker hood
Microphone inside the amp
Sources: (fr) web.archive.org
Types
Audio, Video
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
October 2010

A microphone was found in an anarchist documentation center inside an electrical outlet. It was a transmitter-receiver.

Sources: (it) web.archive.org / translations: (fr) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
May 2010

A GPS tracker was found under the truck of a member of the Nunatak magazine. The device was attached with a magnet under the back of the vehicle. It consisted in Vodaphone SIM cards connected to 4 “torch” batteries in a series.

Sources: (fr) web.archive.org
Type
Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
April 2010

A GPS tracker and a microphone were found in a car. The device was placed between the car body and the interior coating, and attached with two magnets. It was connected to the power supply by the car interior light wires. It consisted in a modified mobile phone, an antenna, a GPS and a microphone.

The microphone
The whole device
The mobile phone
Sources: (it) web.archive.org / translations: (en) web.archive.org ; (fr) web.archive.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
October 2009

A microphone was found in the Doppiofondo documentation center inside an electrical outlet.

Sources: (fr) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023

A GPS tracker and microphones were found in a car. The device was placed in a plastic container (badly) sticked under the roof. It contained two boxes, both of which contained a “base” mobile phone with a SIM card. From there wires went out, passing by a hole up to under the back seats. There were two microphones passing by the seat belt canal: the first at the driver's height, the second at the height of the levers used to adjust the seat, next to the back seats. The antenna was behind the back seat. Finally, still coming from these two boxes, was a wire that went through the car doors to reach the car fuse box.

Overall view of the device
GPS antenna
Sources: (it) web.archive.org / translations: (fr) web.archive.org
Types
Audio, Location
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
March 2008

A microphone was found in the home of a comrade. The device was hidden inside an air inlet (ventilation system) of the house. It consisted in 12 cylindrical batteries and a microphone.

Sources: (it) web.archive.org / translations: (fr) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023

Two microphone receiver cases were found in the entry corridor of the building that hosted the Fuori Luogo space. Both devices were hidden above a fake ceiling in the entry corridor. They were directly connected to the phone line with telephone wires. They consisted in a main body, with a connector with external remote control, a digital receiver showing the strength of the received signal, and antennas. The presence of these two receivers probably meant that there were two emitting microphones in the space.

Sources: (it) web.archive.org / translations: (fr) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In buildings
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
June 2007

Microphones were found in a car. The device was placed in the car ceiling. It was connected to the car interior light power supply. It consisted in a modified mobile phone, an antenna and two microphones.

Overall view of the device
First mobile phone
Second mobile phone
Antenna
The GPS
The two microphones
Sources: (it) web.archive.org / translations: (fr) web.archive.org
Type
Audio
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
March 2005

A surveillance device was found in the roof of a car. It was equipped with a microphone. It seemed that the device was causing interference that could be heard on the car radio.

Type
Audio
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023
November 2004

A surveillance device was found in the vehicle of someone investigated as part of the operation “Cervantes”, a repressive operation against Italian anarchists. It was located in the roof of the car. It was equipped with one (or two) microphone(s). It was powered by sunlight. It seemed that the device was causing interference that could be heard on the car radio.

Type
Audio
Location
In vehicles
Country
Italy
Last updated
March 25, 2023