Naples: Police raid subway trains, arresting two for passenger robberies.

Naples - They turned the subway cars into a trap for commuters. The State Police executed a precautionary arrest warrant against two men, a 37-year-old homeless man and a 41-year-old from Benevento, seriously suspected of committing two armed robberies aboard trains on the subway line connecting Pozzuoli to Bagnoli.

The technique: threats of beatings and stabbings

The two allegedly operated in tandem, using a tried-and-tested technique: boarding trains, they identified unaccompanied passengers and threatened them to steal their smartphones. On July 31st, they allegedly threatened to beat a young man until he handed over his phone. Just 24 hours later, on August 1st, on the same line, they allegedly terrorized another passenger by threatening to stab him in order to steal his phone.

The investigation: cameras and recognitions

The victims filed a complaint with the Pozzuoli Police Station, which initiated an investigation.

The raid: one stopped at the station, the other at home

The operation was conducted by the Benevento Flying Squad and the Campania Railway Police Department. The 41-year-old was arrested at his home in Benevento, while the 37-year-old, of no fixed address, was stopped near Naples Central Station.

The order—which means prison for the 37-year-old and house arrest for the 41-year-old—was issued by the preliminary investigations judge of the Court of Naples at the request of the 7th Investigations Section of the Naples Public Prosecutor's Office. Both suspects are presumed innocent pending a final sentence.

The operation dismantled a dangerous robbery ring that was making the metro trains in the Phlegraean Fields area unsafe, restoring a sense of security to the many commuters who use that line every day.