Italian police arrest 34 in Camorra raid and seize 3.2 million euros hidden in walls

Dawn raids in Caivano and Casoria

Carabinieri officers executed an enforcement operation across the Naples metropolitan area at dawn on 21 September 2026, targeting the Angelino Camorra clan. The sweep was conducted by the Investigative Unit of Castello di Cisterna alongside operational sections of the Caivano and Casoria company commands. The operation executed a warrant issued by the preliminary investigations judge of the Court of Naples at the request of the Naples District Anti-Mafia Directorate. A total of 34 suspects were detained under the order, with 23 individuals remanded to prison custody and 11 placed under house arrest. Prosecutors charged the suspects with armed mafia-type association, narcotics trafficking, extortion, and unlawful weapons possession, with all counts carrying the legal aggravating factor of mafia methodology.

Cash hidden inside walls and shower floors

During the search of an apartment on via Atellana in Caivano, investigators discovered 3.2 million euros in cash alongside 11 luxury watches, including Rolex timepieces. The currency consisted entirely of 50-euro banknotes, neatly packaged in cellophane bundles and hidden inside cavity walls and underneath a shower base. Video footage released by law enforcement showed officers using sledgehammers to break apart bathroom masonry and floor tiles before hauling the stacks away in plastic buckets. The assets were found under the management of a woman identified by investigators as the custodian of the clan's treasury. The seized money and proceeds from the watches will be transferred into the Single Justice Fund. Naples Chief Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri outlined the financial outcome of the raid at a press briefing.

We seized 3.2 million euros and 11 luxury watches, they will go into the single justice fund, and that way we paid for a year of wiretaps.

Extortion rackets and territorial shift

Investigators traced the illicit activities of the Angelino clan as it reorganized between Caivano and Casoria. The group relocated its core base to the Bronx neighbourhood of Caivano after being displaced from the Parco Verde complex, subsequently establishing several narcotics dealing locations in neighbouring Casoria. Prosecutors documented a systematic extortion network targeting local shopkeepers, who were coerced into paying protection money three times a year, specifically at Christmas, Easter, and the mid-August Ferragosto holiday. Despite widespread extortion across the commercial sector, only a single merchant came forward to submit an official complaint to investigators. Carabinieri Provincial Commander Biagio Storniolo urged business owners to break the surrounding culture of intimidation.

Denounce, omertà still reigns, it must be overcome.

Municipal background and military commendations

The criminal faction had previously influenced local politics and technical staff through extortion schemes tied to public contracts, which led authorities to dissolve Caivano's municipal council for mafia infiltration in October 2023. Although Caivano has since elected a new mayor and administration, the criminal network retained active drug dealing and extortion structures. Green-Left Alliance lawmaker Francesco Emilio Borrelli commented on the arrests, stating that government claims regarding a fully cleaned-up municipality did not match ongoing criminal activity on the ground. Later that morning, General Rosario Castello, commander of the Interregional Carabinieri Ogaden, visited the Campania Legion headquarters in Naples. Joined by Legion Commander General Francesco Gargaro, Castello awarded official honours to participating officers and emphasized the role of local Carabinieri stations in maintaining community security.