Vault moles arrested: here are the 12 members of the hole gang

24Naples – Full-body suits to avoid leaving any traces, face masks, rubber gloves, and surgical precision in penetrating the reinforced floors through the maze of sewer pipes. The race for the "hole band“, a criminal organization specialized in robbing credit institutions and post offices between the provinces of Naples and Caserta.

The agents of the State Police They executed a precautionary custody order targeting 12 people: seven were sent to prison, while five others were placed under house arrest. The orders were signed by the Preliminary Investigations Judge (GIP) of the Court of Naples North at the request of the Prosecutor's Office. All are facing extremely serious charges, to varying degrees: criminal conspiracy to commit armed robberies and illegal possession of war weapons.

The dawn raid and the BPM coup

The massive security deployment went into effect at first light. In addition to investigators from the Flying Squad and the Caserta Police Headquarters, members of the Crime Prevention Unit were deployed, supported by the nose-hunting dog units and aerial monitoring from a police helicopter that surveyed the targets from above.

The investigations that led to the dismantling of the gang have their roots in the textbook heist carried out on January 16, 2023, in Giugliano in Campania, targeting a branch of Banca Popolare di Milano. That day, a commando of armed and disguised men emerged literally out of nowhere inside the bank's premises, terrorizing employees and customers. Beneath their feet was a sewer tunnel dug inch by inch, and a hole barely 40-50 centimeters deep in the bank's floor, just enough for the criminals and their loot to pass through.

The network of "goalposts" and the missed shots

The work of the Caserta Mobile Squad investigators, supported by wiretaps, telephone interceptions, and electronic shadowing, initially focused on the key figures who remained above ground: the "lookouts." By monitoring their movements and suspicious contacts near the BPM on the day of the robbery, the officers were able to reconstruct the makeup of a stable, top-down criminal structure, with a rigid and strict division of roles. There were those who dug, those who planned, those who recovered the weapons, and those who watched the street, ready to raise the alarm.

The gang's thirst for money, however, didn't stop on that January day. The ongoing investigation allowed investigators to accuse the criminal group of probable involvement in two further attacks, this time fortunately only attempted but planned with the same, identical underground technique, against the post offices in Giugliano in Campania and nearby Villaricca.

The list of those arrested

Residents in the Municipality of Giugliano in Campania (NA)

CHIARIELLO Domenico, born in Naples on 21.07.1983.

CHIARIELLO Antonio, born in Villaricca (NA) on 19.10.1992.
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FOLINIELLO Antonio, born in Mugnano di Napoli (NA) on 06.10.1988.

JAPAN Giuseppe, born in Naples on 25.08.1976.

MARTORI Antonio, born in Pozzuoli (NA) on 17.05.1983.

DI MATTEO Antimo, born in Naples on 25.04.1976.

HACHROUN Giuseppe, born in Naples on 30.11.1992.

BELFIORE Beniamino, born in Aversa (CE) on 29.11.1976.

RUSSO Francesco, born in Villaricca on 02.01.2000.

SAULINO Pio Giuseppe, born in Naples on 23.07.1998.

STATERINI Francesco Pio, born in Ancona on 03.07.2004.

Residents in the Municipality of Naples

GIGANTE Simone, born in Naples on 03.12.2001.