Naples – They had been under observation for some time, but yesterday's raid closed the net around the two sons of Giovanni Cortese, known as "'o Cavallaro," a leading figure in the Di Lauro clan and former right-hand man of the late Cosimo Di Lauro, protagonist of the first bloody feud in Scampia.
Mario Cortese, 23, and his sister Nunzia, 20, were arrested by the Carabinieri of the Stella Company's Operational Unit: the two, long considered close to the dynamics of the family group, were sent to prison.
The intervention took place between SEcondigliano and Arzano, in a courtyard on Via del Camposanto, where officers noticed suspicious movements from a balcony. Upon seeing the patrols, the two youths allegedly attempted to throw some cardboard boxes into the air.
Inside, however, the Carabinieri found a much larger drug load: 41 kilos and 225 grams of hashish, divided into blocks ready for distribution.
In addition to the drugs, packaging materials, cell phones, and several manuscripts were also seized from the apartment. The mother of the two boys, a 45-year-old woman, was also present at the home and has been charged at large.
For months, investigators explain, Mario and Nunzia had been under scrutiny not only for their drug dealing activities but also for illegal video calls with their imprisoned father, which were then shared on social media as a gesture of ostentation and belonging.
These images attracted the attention of investigators and strengthened the hypothesis of the two young men's direct involvement in the clan's criminal dynamics.
The Cortese family is well known to law enforcement: the head of the family, Giovanni "'o Cavallaro," has been a key figure in the Di Lauro clan for years. Now, the spotlight is shifting to the sons, the subject of an arrest that has rekindled the spotlight on a name that continues to resonate in the neighborhoods of the Neapolitan hinterland.
Investigators also want to reconstruct the drug trafficking chain from suppliers to final buyers, identifying the customers for whom the drugs were intended and also which drug dealing locations.
Changes and revisions to this article
- Article updated on 06/12/2025 at 15:50 - Typo corrected
- Article updated on 06/12/2025 at 15:54 - Content updated
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Comments (2)
Munnezz
It's strange how some families continue to be involved in illegal activities. It's unclear why young people don't try to distance themselves from these situations. We hope the authorities can stop this phenomenon and help these young people.