Naples – The Camorra "maintains its strong presence" in the Naples judicial district, centered between Naples and Caserta, despite ongoing crackdowns. This was the analysis of Attorney General Aldo Policastro, speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2026 judicial year.
Camorra, variable alliances and two hegemonic blocs
Policastro describes a "fragmented scenario" of clans still tied to families and territories, but embedded in a "varied and variable" system of alliances. In this context, he argues, dominant positions remain in the hands of two main cartels: the Mazzarella cartel and the Secondigliano Alliance, "historically opposed" and equipped with top-down structures and military capabilities.
According to the prosecutor, the two cartels exert a powerful aggregation force on smaller groups and are able to transcend local boundaries, expanding nationally and internationally. Their primary areas of activity remain drug trafficking and economic infiltration, using "more innovative and modern" methods, especially in money laundering, and even involving forms of "underground banking."
“Camorra-investor” and transnational money laundering networks
In the passage dedicated to the economic and financial evolution of the clans, Policastro describes a Camorra that "dresses as an investor" and interacts with transnational organizations "detached" from territorial logic: transversal structures that offer money laundering services to professionals and businesses, channeling capital from criminal activities and tax evasion.
Minors and weapons: the numbers for 2025 and the "stese" alarm
Another chapter concerns the rise in youth violence and the "increasing and casual" use of weapons. Policastro cites data from the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office for 2025: 8 homicide cases, 40 for Camorra association, 468 for weapons-related crimes, and 4 for terrorism.
"Stese," injuries, and murders among very young people, he adds, have become a recurring feature in the news and also affect neighborhoods like Sanità and Quartieri Spagnoli, often portrayed—he warns—with a "tourist-friendly" narrative as areas now freed from the Camorra. For the Attorney General, poverty and exclusion, poor education, the lack of adults to support them, Camorra "sirens," and the easy availability of weapons are all factors.
In terms of responses, Policastro emphasizes that repression alone is not enough: "When a 15-year-old engages in crime, society as a whole fails," he states, calling for social intervention and real opportunities alongside legal action.
Hate campaigns against magistrates and a referendum climate
The Attorney General also reports "insistent smear campaigns" against the judiciary that risk quickly turning into hate campaigns. In his speech—attended, among others, by Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano—he reiterates the principle of independence: "The magistrate is always and only accountable to the law." He warns that the climate is becoming "heated" as the referendum on the constitutional reform of the judiciary approaches.
Gender-based violence: lower age and "alarming picture"
On the issue of gender-based violence, Policastro described an "alarming" picture, not only because of the numbers, but also because of the increase in cases resulting in femicide and the decreasing age of both victims and perpetrators. In her speech, she addressed 14-year-old Martina Carbonaro, who was killed—she recalls—by her 19-year-old ex-boyfriend.
The Attorney General also highlights the initiatives launched: from the District Observatory on Gender-Based Violence (with the Court of Appeal of Naples and the Eva Cooperative) to the opening, at the Palace of Justice, of a "Listening Space" dedicated to victims of gender-based violence as well as victims of organized and common crime, with the involvement of the Polis Foundation and the Suor Orsola Benincasa University.
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Comments (1)
It's very sad to see how the Camorra manages to remain present despite law enforcement interventions. The situation among young people is worrying; real social action is needed to combat this phenomenon.