Naples: The "high-tech grandparents robbers" gang has been busted.

Naples - A criminal syndicate composed of "elderly" professionals, capable of combining the violence of armed robbery with the most sophisticated technology for burglaries. This is the profile of the gang busted by the Naples Flying Squad, led by Giovanni Leuci, who executed five arrest warrants.

Five men were arrested, all Neapolitans from the historic center and with ages that clash with the brutality of the crimes they were charged with: they ranged from 56 to 72 years old.

The charges, coordinated by the Naples Prosecutor's Office, are very serious: criminal conspiracy aimed at committing property crimes, armed robberies, residential burglaries, and even aggravated kidnapping.

"Sneakey" software for duplicating keys

The gang's modus operandi reveals a dual nature. For "clean" thefts of shops and apartments, the group used a sophisticated software called "Sneakey." With this program, the criminals were able to reproduce the targets' keys from simple photographs.

The inspections were carried out meticulously: either by taking close-up photos with a standard cell phone, or by using a powerful telephoto lens capable of capturing the image of the key hanging on the door or in the lock from up to 70 meters away. Once the image was obtained, the software did the rest, allowing the gang to enter without breaking in.

Violent robbery and kidnapping

But when technology wasn't enough, the gang didn't hesitate to use brute force. This was the case with the robbery carried out on March 16th, at 22:45 PM, at a supermarket in Materdei.

Four members of the commando, guns drawn, stormed the market and took the merchandise sorting staff hostage. The employees were restrained with duct tape and threatened.

The gang was aiming for the safe.

Those arrested and the investigations

Investigators from the Flying Squad have gathered serious evidence of guilt against the five men, who were involved in several robberies carried out between March and June 2024.

Those arrested are all figures already known to the police:

Massimo Avallone, a 56-year-old from Bacoli, known as “o' chiattone,” believed to be the leader of the gang and a central figure in the investigation (he appears in 3 of the 4 charges).

Brothers Renato Elia, 72, and Francesco Elia, 70, both from the Spanish Quarter.

Pasquale Inocenta, a 59-year-old from Fuorigrotta, is currently in custody for another charge.

Gennaro Ruggiero, 59, from Pallonetto, nicknamed “Genny the Handsome”.

The investigation's trump card, in addition to analyzing video surveillance footage and interviewing victims and witnesses, was wiretaps. In one intercepted conversation, two of the suspects explicitly referred to a "fatica," a slang term for a crime, they had just committed. The circumstantial evidence was then rounded out by the identification of Massimo Avallone by two of the employees of the robbed supermarket.

According to investigators, not all members physically participated in the same robberies, but all are charged with conspiracy. The investigation, however, could expand: investigators are seeking evidence of a possible branch of the gang, which may have also carried out robberies using the same technique in Italian-speaking Switzerland.