Naples - A new criminal balance is reshaping the Camorra's geography in Scampia. Statements from several collaborators of justice, collected in recent months and already incorporated into several court documents, reveal the rise of an emerging group that has displaced the Amato-Pagano clan in some of the neighborhoods historically most strategic for drug trafficking: Lot T (Chalet Baku), Lot R (Oasi del Buon Pastore), Lot H (Sette Palazzi), and part of Lot G.
According to the informers, the brothers Elia and Maurizio Cancello are leading this new criminal entity, together with Ferdinando Cifariello, indicated as the regent of the Sette Palazzi, and Giovanni Raia, the contact of the Chalet Baku.
A criminal quadrilateral that, taking advantage of the power vacuum created by the arrests and internal tensions within the Amato-Pagano family, would have imposed its leadership on the territory, obtaining – or at least not encountering – the explicit opposition of the secessionists themselves.
The new criminal framework and the new geography of control of the Camorra emerges from reading the 51 pages of the precautionary order signed by the investigating judge Maria Gabriella Iagulli thanks to which seven members of the new criminal group ended up in prison while three others are lying in wait, all accused of extortion and kidnapping against the family of a businessman from the Sette palazzi from whom they took away their council house last year with force and threats.
The end of the Amato-Pagano dominion over the districts of Scampia
Until late spring 2024, the districts now at the center of the dispute were under the control of the Amato-Pagano clan, born from the historic split of 2004-2005 that sparked the first Scampia feud and dismantled the Di Lauro family's rule. The latest criminal structure was reconstructed in the precautionary order of December 2024, in which the Naples investigating judge recognized the role of Luigi Diano, known as "Cicciotto," as the contact for Lotto T, Lotto R, and the Sette Palazzi.
Diano, now in prison, coordinated the drug dealing centers and acted as a link between the Scampia operational group and the historic "regency" of the Amato-Pagano family, rooted in Mugnano and Melito. But in June 2024 something changed: the Gate, Cifariello and Raia ousted Cicciotto, taking direct control of the most profitable areas for the sale of cocaine and heroin.
The Criminal Coup: Threats, Extortion, and New Balances
The first signs of this shift in power came from complaints from families in the neighborhood, unrelated to the Camorra but targeted by the new group.
In several reports collected between December 2024 and February 2025, the victims recounted incidents of threats and assaults that confirm the self-proclamation of the Cancello family and their allies as the new masters of Scampia.
AT, attacked in September 2024, reported that Elia Cancello, after insulting her and chasing her down the street, shouted at her: "I'm in charge here, you can go wherever you want... to the best thug in Naples, I'm in charge here!"
Her husband F.
It might interest you
Casavatore: Work has begun on the first dog walking area.
Fake invalidity claims, massive €2 million scam at INPS: eight under investigation in Naples
A night of terror in Pomigliano d'Arco: thieves attempt to steal a car and threaten the owner with death.
Land of Fires: The Arzano case arrives before the Sole Commissioner.
The daughter, however, explained that she had been forced to leave home for fear of retaliation: "We know that these people are part of a criminal group led by Cancello Elia."
These are testimonies that are fully confirmed by the statements of collaborators of justice.
The words of the repentants: "A large and well-armed group"
Strengthening the reconstruction of events are revelations from Luigi Esposito, brother of Camillo, who was killed in September 2024 inside the "Hair Design Luxury" barbershop in Scampia. Esposito, already linked to the Vanella Grassi clan, decided to cooperate after his brother's murder.
In his statements (minutes from September 2024 and January 2025), he confirmed that Elia Cancello had long controlled Lotto G, moving around armed and instilling fear in other groups as well. Esposito himself recounted that Gaetano Angrisano, a longtime member of the Vanella Grassi clan, went so far as to install a GPS device on Cancello's car to follow him and suspect him of a murder. This operation was later abandoned under pressure from other leaders.
Esposito then reconstructed the crucial moment: "Recently, Elia Cancello, Nanduccio Cifariello, and Giovanni Raia took over the Sette Palazzi, the Chalet Baku, and the Oasi, ousting Cicciotto degli Amato-Pagano. It happened suddenly, when the shooting occurred at the Sette Palazzi, before the summer of 2024."
For the collaborator, the real driving force behind the rise is Elijah Cancello"If it weren't for him, Cifariello and Raia wouldn't have been able to fire Cicciotto. The Amato-Paganos let him do it, because he was a dangerous individual, someone who shoots, not just interested in making money."
A leadership recognized even by opponents
According to sources, the Amato-Paganos therefore "tolerated" the seizure of power, preferring to avoid a head-on clash with a group described as large and well-armed. In other words, a superclan capable of combining the intimidating power of the Cancello clan with the territorial roots of Cifariello and Raia.
The new criminal organization, the informants explain, isn't limited to managing fixed drug dealing centers but has also extended its control to so-called "private" dealers, the pushers who sell drugs to homes or wholesale, forcing them to source exclusively from the clan, at a premium or for a fixed fee. This mechanism has already been established by other organizations, but is now monopolized by the new group.
The new power map in Scampia
With the formation of this alliance, Scampia's criminal landscape entered a new phase. It was no longer just the conflict between Di Lauro and the secessionists, nor the unchallenged dominance of the Amato-Pagano clan. Now, in what was the heart of the 2004-2005 feud, a third group emerged: the superclan of Cancello, Cifariello, and Raia.
A group that – if the informants' statements are further confirmed – could represent the new epicenter of the Camorra north of Naples, capable of dictating the law among the public housing projects and streets that, twenty years ago, were the scene of the most ferocious bloodbath in recent history.
Comments (3)
Reading the article, one can see a continuing evolution of crime in Naples, but one wonders whether the measures adopted so far are sufficient to combat these phenomena or whether a different approach is needed.
I don't understand how, after so many years of fighting the Camorra, there are still groups that manage to emerge in this way. The situation is worrying, and decisive action is needed from law enforcement.
The article is interesting and shows how new criminal groups are changing the situation in Scampia. However, I wonder if there are any real plans to stop this seemingly endless escalation of violence. The authorities must intervene.