Camorra, 31 arrests in the Petrone-Puccinelli clan: drug trafficking network dismantled

The Carabinieri of the Naples Bagnoli Operational Unit executed 31 precautionary measures at dawn today, September 16, 2026, against alleged affiliates of the Petrone-Puccinelli Camorra clan. The operation, coordinated by the Naples District Anti-Mafia Directorate, targeted the neighborhoods of Rione Traiano, Pianura, and Fuorigrotta, areas long under observation for the influence of organized crime.

The suspects are considered seriously implicated in criminal association aimed at trafficking and dealing large quantities of narcotic substances, with the additional charge of employing mafia-style methods. According to investigators, the clan had for years managed a massive drug flow, primarily cocaine and hashish, turning entire residential areas into veritable open-air drug supermarkets, operating 24 hours a day.

The operation represents the culmination of a complex investigative effort based on telephone and environmental wiretaps, surveillance, and on-the-ground corroboration. The Naples Public Prosecutor will hold a press conference at 10:30 this morning to detail the investigation, the roles of those arrested, and the business volume of the dismantled drug market.

The Petrone-Puccinelli clan is a Camorra organization historically rooted in the Rione Traiano, in the heart of the Soccavo district in the western outskirts of Naples. Its criminal activity has developed over time through the territorial control of specific areas, imposing its presence with mafia-style methods that include systematic intimidation of residents and the use of violence against rival groups.

The organization built its economic power primarily on drug trafficking, managing for years a steady flow of drugs that served as the financial engine for the entire structure. The proceeds did not only enrich the leadership but financed the entire organization: from "salaries" to affiliates to the purchase of resources necessary to maintain territorial control.

The situation came to the attention of law enforcement through a progressive accumulation of reports and investigations that highlighted the pervasive criminal influence in these areas. Today's operation aims to decapitate the leadership and dismantle the operational network of one of the most entrenched clans in the Phlegraean area, seeking to break the climate of omertà and fear created by mafia control.