Naples, attempted robbery at the station, one arrest last night

Naples – A shoplifting attempt occurred Sunday evening near the Central Station, yet another episode of violence in an increasingly degraded and unsafe neighborhood. The victim, Gabriella Baggio, in Naples for work, was attacked by two criminals near Piazza Garibaldi.

During the struggle, the woman fell, sustaining a blow to her knee. One of the two robbers was subdued and arrested thanks to the joint intervention of the police and military personnel involved in the "Safe Streets" operation.

The incident has brought renewed attention to the situation described as "unsustainable" by residents and business owners in the area, who in the last few hours have sent new reports to the Green-Left Alliance MP, Francesco Emilio Borrelli. At the center of the complaints is the now permanent so-called "garbage market," which continues to proliferate despite checks and removals.

According to residents, illegal vendors are rapidly moving and reorganizing: after the clearing of the Garibaldi statue in the center of the square, they resettled a few meters away, increasing in number week after week. And while the Municipal Police patrol the central area, the surrounding streets remain choked with illegal occupation of public land, traffic jams, and piles of abandoned waste.

"The police and military intervention that led to the arrest of the pickpocket is a good thing," Borrelli stated, "but the criminal situation around the station has now exploded. We express our full solidarity with yet another victim. In the last three days alone, we've recorded over ten thefts and robberies in the area, some of which we were present. The images sent in by residents speak clearly: a carpet of waste and stolen or counterfeit goods that flouts every rule of hygiene and legality."

The MP also points the finger at a broader illegal economic system: "It's unacceptable that residents pay the TARI (waste tax) to live in abject poverty, while those illegally occupying the streets don't pay a cent and operate undisturbed. This isn't just a market for counterfeit goods and waste, but a business fueled by the Camorra, which supplies goods to illegal street vendors. In these cases, fines are of little use."

Hence the call for a change of pace: "We need continuous and thorough controls, but above all, upstream interventions to eliminate the availability of stolen or counterfeit goods. We also need to seriously address the legalization of immigrants, to protect them from the exploitation of clans. Naples doesn't deserve this spectacle of squalor, and those arriving in the city cannot find themselves faced with a free zone where anything goes. It's worth remembering that serial robbers and muggers often hide among illegal vendors."

The demand from the neighborhoods surrounding the station is unanimous: immediate responses from the institutions. Residents and business owners demand that the Piazza Garibaldi area return to being a dignified calling card for Naples, and not a symbol of a never-ending emergency.