Naples – The Casavatore robbery of the drug shipment that 'Ndrangheta men were delivering to the Amato Pagano clan didn't happen out of nowhere. That heist, which sparked the investigation and the raid against Vanella Grassi two days ago, stemmed from an international supply system that the "Girati" of Secondigliano patiently built over the years, shifting the focus of drug trafficking toward the Iberian Peninsula.
According to informants, before Bartiromo "Jet" took over the drug supply, the role belonged to Gaetano Angrisano. When Angrisano, after his release from prison, traveled to Spain with Giuseppe Corcione, he found support in Malaga—specifically, in Puerto Banús—from Pasquale Vanacore, known as "El Chapo," the clan's international traffic master.
The role of Pasquale Vanacore "El Chapo" in Spain
When Vanacore was arrested in Spain in 2021, Angrisano attempted to take over his network by striking deals with the Moroccan associate of "El Chapo," the man who controlled drug trafficking internationally. He succeeded. The result, according to informants, is that today the Vanella Grassi clan has become Naples' most well-stocked network for the importation of cocaine, marijuana, weed, and heroin.
Vanacore, meanwhile, has been released—he's still in Malaga, Puerto Banús—but he has an Italian arrest warrant out for him. Spain, for now, hasn't extradited him: he still has a pending legal case there.
Gratteri's size and fear
The consequences of the robbery were swift. The 'Ndrangheta neither forgets nor forgives—anyone who's written even a page of Calabrian criminal history knows this. And when it discovered that twenty kilos of cocaine had been stolen from its couriers at gunpoint by a Neapolitan clan, it responded in its usual way: by putting a price on the person's head.
One hundred and twenty thousand euros on the head of Simone Bartiromo "Jet," the mastermind behind the tip-off. A sum that in the Camorra's drug dealing circles is worth a death sentence.
The gravity of the situation was captured the other day by Naples Chief Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, a Calabrian-born magistrate who has built a twenty-year career on the 'Ndrangheta.
On the sidelines of the press conference, Gratteri chose words as heavy as stones: "The new element is this direct connection with the 'Ndrangheta. On one of the occasions when cocaine was brought to Naples, the Camorra carried out a robbery against these two 'Ndranghetists. The problem is that we're a little worried about the 'Ndrangheta's reaction."
A concern that the magistrate then translated into concrete action: "We asked the people we believe to be the perpetrators of this robbery if they feel in danger, if they want to be protected. It's a choice, it can't be imposed. Law enforcement is on maximum alert, regardless of their will."
The death of Camillo Esposito and the collapse of the balance of power
There is a shadow that runs through the entire ordinance, silent but cumbersome: that of Camillo Esposito, one of the two armed brothers who had held the Calabrian couriers at gunpoint in Via Caracciolo.
Camillo Esposito is not among the nine arrested the other morning. He couldn't be: he died on September 7, 2024, killed in an ambush in Scampia. A violent death, in the northern suburbs of Naples, carrying the weight of a feud that may not yet be over.
Whether his death is directly linked to the 20-kilo heist and the revenge of the Nirta-Strangio clan is one of the questions the Naples DDA investigation has not yet fully resolved. But timing, in the criminal world of Scampia, is rarely coincidental.
"Did you think we were joking?" Gino "o'Zuppone" had said, laughing, that April morning in 2023. Now, two years later, the question applies to him and everyone else. This time, the justice system has provided the answer.
Changes and revisions to this article
- Article updated on 26/02/2026 at 09:22 PM - Content structure updated
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Comments (1)
Interesting article, but many things aren't entirely clear to me: Spain seems to have been the crux of the matter, but the names are mixed up and the timing isn't clear. Justice seems to be moving in fits and starts, fear remains, networks are changing, and the balance may never return to the way it was before; we'll see.