ITALIAN authorities have recovered €3.2 million (£2.8m; $3.6m) in cash concealed inside the walls, floors and furniture of an apartment in Naples, following a dawn anti-mafia operation that resulted in the arrest of 34 people.
The discovery was made on Monday in Caivano, a town north of Naples, during a months-long investigation led by Neapolitan anti-mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri.
According to the Naples Carabinieri military police, the cash was mainly in €50 notes, wrapped in cellophane and carefully arranged beneath floor and wall tiles, as well as inside concealed drawers in wardrobes.
Police reportedly removed the money using plastic mop buckets before loading it into an armoured vehicle.
Authorities also seized 11 luxury Rolex watches, weapons and equipment allegedly linked to drug trafficking.
The operation targeted members of the Angelino clan, which investigators allege had established a significant presence in Caivano. The town’s local government was placed under judicial administration last year amid concerns over organised crime infiltration.
Gratteri said investigators had uncovered the group’s alleged criminal activities partly through information provided by informants who received protection from the authorities.
He also disclosed that investigators had intercepted communications involving alleged mobsters in prison, after mobile phones were allegedly smuggled into correctional facilities by relatives.
“To demonstrate the importance of the operation, in just one home, we seized €3.2 million in cash, as well as valuable watches,” Gratteri told reporters in Naples.
The 34 suspects are accused of mafia-style criminal association, drug trafficking, extortion and possession of drugs for the purpose of dealing, according to the Carabinieri.
Investigators said the alleged criminal organisation operated in an “entrepreneurial” manner, with individuals reportedly working in staggered shifts to carry out activities including drug dealing and extortion.
The operation comes amid continued government efforts to tackle organised crime and youth violence in Caivano.
In 2023, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government introduced the “Caivano Model”, an urban regeneration and crime-prevention initiative intended to address juvenile crime while providing alternatives to criminal activity.
Following Monday’s arrests, however, opposition politicians questioned the effectiveness of the initiative.
Opposition parliamentarian Francesco Borrelli of the Greens and Left Alliance said the investigation presented a different picture from government claims that the area had been cleaned up and organised crime defeated.
The €3.2 million recovered during the operation is expected to be transferred to Italy’s Justice Fund, which supports victims of organised crime.
Gratteri also used the seizure to highlight the importance of investigative wiretapping, joking that the recovered money could cover the cost of further surveillance operations in Naples.
The investigation remains ongoing, while the allegations against those arrested are subject to due legal process.
Source: CNN
