Naples – Fifteen people were taken to prison, one was placed under house arrest, and weapons, narcotics, and documentation deemed useful for further investigations were seized. This is the outcome of the operation that began early today in Scampia, centered in the area of Chalet Bakù and the Oasi del Buon Pastore.
The measure was coordinated by the Naples District Anti-Mafia Directorate. Carabinieri and police officers were deployed to enforce the precautionary measures. The warrants were issued by preliminary investigations judge Gabriella Logozzo. The document—an impressive dossier, over 300 pages—reconstructs, step by step, the structure and evolution of the Raia brothers' family group, considered for years a key player in the management of illicit activities in the area.
According to investigators, the statements of eight collaborators of justice, cross-checked with wiretaps and investigative evidence, also played a significant role.
Control of the territory: "stese" and armed opposition
The core of the accusation is its widespread control of the territory. According to the DDA, the group consolidated its presence in Scampia—and particularly in the neighborhoods identified as Chalet Bakù and Oasi del Buon Pastore—not only through the management of drug dealing centers, but also through systematic armed confrontation with rival groups.
The ordinance calls for demonstrations with firearms, the so-called "stese", used as a sign of strength and as a tool for environmental intimidation: shooting in the streets, rapid raids, messages to those who "do not fall into line" and to those who try to call into question the balance.
Social housing and the housing market: pressure also on the Notturno
A key chapter concerns the forced management of public housing. Investigators describe a system of pressure in the area to acquire properties held by others and then reassign them to affiliates or resell them illegally.
In this context, a fact emerges that, according to the reconstruction, marks the definitive breakdown of the original balance: the Raia clan, born as an offshoot of the Notturno group, did not hesitate – on several occasions – to use violence even against members of the Notturno family itself, with the aim of "freeing" apartments and consolidating its network of control.
The common fund and the "monthsate": money for free and prisoners
Another typical element of the mafia organization, according to the DDA, is the management of proceeds: a common fund fed by illicit activities and also used to support members, both at liberty and in prison, through the so-called "mesate".
The wiretaps – as reported in the order – would have captured internal discussions between the brothers indicated as promoters, with a distribution criterion that rewarded those who were free and could manage the affairs "outside" with larger shares than their imprisoned relatives.
A detail that, in the documents, is interpreted as an indication of a structured and non-episodic organization, attentive to economic continuity and the maintenance of the associative bond.
From Notturno rib to joint in the Amato-Pagano area
The reconstructed picture places the group as a territorial branch linked to the Amato-Pagano clan, within the "splitter" group formed in 2004 following the split with the Di Lauro clan. The charges emphasize that, after gaining control of the areas of influence at the expense of the Notturno clan (the order also cites Costantino Raia's release from prison on December 28, 2018, as a temporal point), the organization operated until December 12, 2022, with significant margins of autonomy.
Subsequently, according to the prosecution's line of argument, the group would have acted under the direct tutelage of the Amato-Pagano clan, identified in the figures of Alessandro De Cicco and Luigi Diano.
Roles in the association
The indictment describes the Raia "family" as a multi-level structure, with a family control room and an operational chain that allegedly continuously governed the drug dealing hubs between Chalet Bakù (lots T/A and T/B) and the Oasi del Buon Pastore (lot R). The investigation places Costantino, Patrizio, Francesco, and Giovanni Raia at the top: investigators believe they are the ones who directed and controlled the entire system, from the arrival of drug shipments to the management of proceeds and the most sensitive decisions.
Immediately below, the documents indicate a group of "supervisors" responsible for operating the organization on the territory: Luigi Ruffo, Carmela Ruggiero, Pietro Gemito, Antonio Garzia, and Francesco Esposito are listed as having coordination and organization responsibilities for trafficking activities, i.e., those responsible for managing shifts, deliveries, cash register operations, and the discipline of the local markets. A similar role is also attributed to Vincenzo Gemito, described as one of the operational leaders in the management of the organization.
Then there's the "departmental" management, with responsibilities tailored to specific substances: Massimo Dannier is identified as the manager of the hashish and marijuana market at Chalet Bakù, a role that—according to the investigative report—places him as the liaison between the availability of the merchandise and daily sales. Salvatore Russo and Tommaso Rusciano are placed among the men responsible for the day-to-day management of the markets, those who would have supported retail trade and street operations.
The "behind the scenes" logistics, crucial to getting the finished substance to the counter, are instead attributed to Massimiliano Parlato: according to the order, he oversaw transportation, cutting, and packaging, the steps that transform the batches into doses ready for sale. Finally, Ciro Gabriele is listed as a dealer in the Chalet Bakù area, thus at the most exposed and daily level of contact with buyers.
List of those arrested
1. RAIA Costantino born in Naples on February 6, 1976; PRISON
2. RAIA Francesco born in Naples on May 27, 1977; PRISON
3. RAIA Giovanni, born in Naples on January 8, 1980; PRISON
4. RAIA Patrizio born in Naples on April 17, 1981; PRISON
5. RAIA Pasqualina born in Naples on 9 October 1971 PRISON
6. RUFFO Luigi born in Naples on January 2, 1975; PRISON
7. RUGGIERO Carmela born in Naples on February 4, 1985; PRISON
8. RUSSO Salvatore born in Naples on October 17, 1996; PRISON
9. GEMITO Pietro born in Naples on September 25, 1995; HOUSE ARREST
10. GEMITO Vincenzo born in Naples on June 26, 1972; PRISON
11. GARZIA Antonio born in Aversa (CE) on 24 July 1994; PRISON
12. ESPOSITO Francesco born in Naples on July 30, 1980; PRISON
13. RUSCIANO Tommaso born in Naples on February 26, 1978; PRISON
14. DANNIER Massimo born in Naples on February 19, 1974; PRISON
15. SPOKEN Massimiliano born in Naples on July 7, 1971; PRISON
16. GABRIELE Ciro born in Naples on 12 June 1969 PRISON
A brawl at the Naples League final was suspended, with a YouTuber carried away on a stretcher.
An evening of sports and entertainment turned violent on Thursday, February 12, at the Holly e Benji Sports Center in Casalnuovo, where the Naples League final between Napoli Creators and Borussia Dortmund was interrupted by a violent brawl that broke out on the pitch. One player was injured in the clashes and…
Carabinieri from the Naples Central Company executed a community placement order in the early hours of today against a 17-year-old Neapolitan boy, seriously suspected of attempted aggravated arson. The order was issued by the investigating judge of the Naples Juvenile Court at the request of the Naples Juvenile Prosecutor's Office. The attempted arson attack on the 12th…
Brusciano was thoroughly searched by Carabinieri from the local station, who conducted a wide-ranging search of the "219" public housing complex on Via De Filippo. During searches of the apartments and common areas, officers found 14 kilos of marijuana in a condominium space, hidden in 13 vacuum-packed bags…
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Choose the social channel you want to subscribe to