Ercolano, the Ascione-Papale clan controlled 14 drug dealing areas. The names of those arrested

Herculaneum – An operation of the Carabinieri of Torre del Greco dismantled a large drug dealing network that operated between Herculaneum, Portici, Naples and the Sorrento Peninsula.

At dawn today, the military arrested 13 Guests, executing a custodial detention order issued by the GIP of Naples at the request of DDA Neapolitan.

A structured and branched organization

The investigations have reconstructed more than 500 drug dealing incidents and identified 14 sales places, attributable to the Ascione-Papale Camorra clanThe aim of the criminal group was to expand control of the drug market as much as possible.

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The investigation began after the arrest of Ciro Sannino, found in possession of drugs and weapons. Investigators hypothesized that it was the custodian of the illicit material and, through interceptions and analysis of his electronic devices, they reconstructed the drug dealing network.

The summits and the modus operandi

According to investigators, the organization was headed by the brothers Ciro and Raffaele Bifolco, together with the latter's wife, Rose Guardavaccaro. Other notable names include Mario Cozzolino, Carlo De Maio and his wife Assunta Scognamiglio.

The group had divided the activity into operational cells, each with specific roles: from drug management to distribution. In some cases, the drug dealing area was "itinerant", with home deliveries after telephone contact with customers.

A secret code for drug dealing

To avoid being discovered, the investigated they used a coded language to refer to narcotics. Words like “phone top-ups”, “jackets”, “shoes”, “pizzas”, “sandwiches”, “wine”, “cigarettes”, “sticks” and “coffee” were used to identify drugs. Alternatively, they were referred to as “scooters” or of the sentence “left stranded”, to indicate that the doses are exhausted.

The quantity was also codified: the number of buyers was expressed as people “who needs a ride”, with specific indications such as “alone”, “two” or “three”, based on the quantity requested.

The operation represents a hard blow to drug trafficking in the Vesuvian territory, but investigations continue to reconstruct further details and dismantle any other channels of dealing.