One hundred thefts of computers, snacks and even a drone from schools in Campania, Molise and Puglia: two Neapolitans arrested

The Carabinieri of Venafro have been investigating for a year to identify those responsible for 100 school thefts in Molise, Campania, Lazio, and Puglia: Salvatore Gatto and Ciro Cositore, both criminals from the Naples area. The details were revealed at a press conference at the Prosecutor's Office by Prosecutor Carlo Fucci, Deputy Prosecutor Carmela Andricciola, Carabinieri Company Commander Salvatore Giacona, and Provincial Commander Lieutenant Colonel Gennaro Ventriglia. Gatto, 40, was already in prison in Isernia for the recent attempted theft at the Sessano del Molise Town Hall (Isernia). The other, 25, was located in Naples and held in Poggioreale prison. The main targets of their raids were computer labs, where they raided laptops, tablets, and notebooks. The total value of the thefts, which also included a drone (provided to a school) and money stolen from vending machines, is over €350. According to investigators, they reached the school buildings in rented cars and then, once the work was completed, called their wives to confirm that everything had gone well. The investigation began in the spring of 2018 following thefts reported by school principals in Isernia and Venafro. Extensive evidence was collected and analyzed, including wiretaps, telephone calls, and surveillance footage. "It was a significant effort," stated Prosecutor Fucci, "precisely because of the scale of the thefts committed, not only in Molise. The difficulty was assembling all the data, which, if analyzed separately, could not yield the final result." The ongoing series of school thefts had raised concerns among parents and students. "They are thieves of culture," Provincial Commander Ventriglia emphasized. "This type of theft deprived young people of essential technological tools for their education. Since these heists were carried out in small communities, they had a local investigative focus. This made it impossible to establish a connection between all the incidents. Therefore," he concluded, "it was decided to create a group dedicated exclusively to this activity, successfully uncovering the elements that connected the various thefts, until the epilogue in the final hours that allowed us to arrest the two offenders."