Castel Volturno – A veritable military-style arsenal, complete and immediately operational, was discovered by the Caserta Police Headquarters' Flying Squad in the countryside of Castel Volturno, bordering the Giugliano area.
A discovery that reinforces the alarm about the persistent military capacity of the criminal clans active on the Domitian coast.
The operation stemmed from an investigative lead that led investigators to suspect a weapons cache owned by local organized crime. The investigation led officers to a seemingly abandoned state-owned property, an isolated and difficult-to-monitor area. There, excavating the soil, the officers uncovered a veritable "magazine."
The seizure total is impressive: a submachine gun, four assault rifles, a sniper rifle, a shotgun, and eight pistols—both revolvers and semi-automatics—all in perfect working order and ready for use. Also recovered were approximately six hundred rounds of ammunition of various calibers and, most significantly, three rocket launchers, confirming the structured, not occasional, nature of the arsenal.
According to investigative sources, the material was held for future use. However, the central question remains: to whom and for what purposes. The Police Headquarters is maintaining the utmost secrecy, a silence that suggests the seizure represents only one piece of a broader and more complex investigation, destined for further developments.
Investigators are not ruling out connections to a similar operation conducted by the same Flying Squad, led by Massimiliano Russo, just three weeks ago. On that occasion, a short distance from the site of the latest discovery, a car was discovered parked like a normal car on a public road, containing numerous guns and ammunition.
In the official statement, the police indicate the Casalesi clan, historically dominant in the area, as the likely owner of the arsenal.
On the Domitian coast, no armed clashes between criminal groups have been reported since the season of violence inaugurated by killer Giuseppe Setola in the spring of 2008 and concluded with his arrest in January of the following year. Since then, only one isolated incident has occurred in 2020: the murder of a Nigerian citizen, stemming from a vendetta against drug dealers and attributed to criminals from the Pianura area.
For years, therefore, a sort of "mafia peace" has seemed to prevail, an apparent truce in which the guns have stopped firing but not circulating. Recent seizures demonstrate that the potential for intimidation remains intact, ready to be reactivated.
Law enforcement and the judiciary remain vigilant, particularly regarding the numerous public works projects underway in Castel Volturno, involving a total investment of nearly €100 million, many of which are financed by NRRP funds and are subject to simplified procedures.
A context that could represent a new and attractive terrain for organised crime, interested in infiltrating the procurement cycle and imposing racketeering.
In this scenario, the display of armed force could become the tool through which the new clans attempt to regain space and criminal consensus, following the arrests and heavy sentences that have hit the historic leaders of mafia organizations in recent years.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
It's incredible that there is still such a large availability of weapons in the area. The discovery of this arsenal highlights the gravity of the situation. It's important that the authorities continue to investigate and monitor these phenomena.