Anti-drug raid in the Caserta area: family clan dismantled. Shooting targeting investigators' cameras.

Caserta – An entire family unit transformed into a drug trafficking organization, complete with firearms and counterintelligence methods to protect the business. This is the core of the operation by the Carabinieri of the Mondragone Territorial Unit, which began at dawn this morning and resulted in the execution of nine precautionary measures (four in prison, three under house arrest, and two with a ban on residing in the province) by order of the Santa Maria Capua Vetere investigating judge.

The investigation, dubbed by investigators, began in September 2023 and uncovered a deeply rooted criminal network. The family members, all of Roma ethnicity, had effectively established a drug dealing ring along a local road, using their homes, mostly illegal. A lucrative and violent business, supported by approximately 400 documented drug deals: crack, heroin, cocaine, and hashish.

But what's striking is the security measures adopted by the group. Fearing investigations, the clan members regularly "sweeped" the premises where they lived and dealt, searching for wiretaps. Their defiance of investigators culminated in an act of extreme audacity: they destroyed a surveillance camera installed by the Carabinieri with rifle fire.

The arsenal at their disposal wasn't just a facade. During the investigation, officers have already seized a Beretta pistol with its serial number erased and a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun with ammunition. The charges range from drug dealing to illegal possession of weapons, to the fraudulent transfer of valuables.

Details of the operation will be presented at a press conference scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Public Prosecutor's Office. The press conference, chaired by Prosecutor Pierpaolo Bruni, will include Deputy Prosecutors Carmine Renzulli and Graziella Arlomede, along with the Carabinieri's operational leaders: Colonel Manuel Scarso, Provincial Commander of the Caserta Carabinieri; Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Bandelli, Commander of the Mondragone Unit; and Lieutenant Emanuele Romano, head of the operational unit.

This morning's raid marks a significant blow to drug distribution in the area, disrupting an organization that combined family roots with violent methods and extreme distrust of law enforcement.