The new gangs of contraband cigarettes: the blitz carried out last night by the financial police of the Afragola group led by Major Dario Gravina, and coordinated by the district anti-mafia directorate of Naples, has dealt a very hard blow to the "lords of blondes" who have their headquarters in the area. In two years of investigations, the Guardia di Finanza has seized about ten tons of contraband cigarettes and discovered three warehouses. Fifteen people were arrested in the blitz, belonging to four "paranze" of smugglers active between Casoria, Melito, Casavatore and Afragola, and who had formed a cartel for the group purchases of contraband cigarettes in Hungary and Ukraine.
By order of the investigating judge, Dr. Claudio Marcopido of the Court of Naples and at the request of the prosecutor, Dr. Luigi Landolfi, the handcuffs were snapped on the brothers Pietro and Carmine di Perna, 35 years old and 54 years old, from Casavatore, Domenico Iavarone, 50 years old, from Casoria, Giovanni Scherma, 28 years old, from Naples, members of the first group. In Casoria, Antonio Russo, 64 years old, and his wife Filomena Bruno, 62 years old, members of the second group, were arrested. For the third group of the cartel, the handcuffs were snapped on Vincenzo Ricci, 42 years old, from Casavatore, the brothers Enrico and Ciro Rispoli, 34 and 42 years old. Finally, the fourth group formed by Nicola De Rosa, 40 years old, his father Pasquale, 64 years old, and two cousins of the boss, his namesake Nicola De Rosa, 36 years old, and Antonio De Rosa, 38 years old, all from Casavatore. Of all these, Giovanni Scherma, the brothers Carmine and Pietro di Perna, and Filomena Bruno ended up under house arrest. The others were locked up in the prison of Secondigliano. All were charged with criminal association aimed at the international smuggling of foreign-processed tobacco.
The investigation began in November 2015 with the discovery by the Afragola group's financial police of a large warehouse of cigarettes in Orta di Atella. The Guardia di Finanza, following some people known as first-level smugglers, discovered other warehouses in Melito and Casavatore and ascertained that the cigarettes came from Hungary. A load of 150 thousand euros earned the four fishing boats around 450 thousand euros.
