Naples: The Petrone-Puccinelli clan has been dismantled, with 31 arrests.

Naples – The engines of the Carabinieri revved up in the early morning darkness. At the crack of dawn, hundreds of Carabinieri officers from the Naples Bagnoli Operations Unit stormed the West Naples stronghold, laying siege to the concrete blocks of the Traiano district, with operational extensions between Pianura and Fuorigrotta. The operation—coordinated by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate and sealed by the investigating judge of the Court of Naples—led to the execution of precautionary measures against 31 people.

The suspects are charged, to varying degrees, with conspiracy to traffic narcotics, aggravated by their mafia-style actions and their desire to further the Petrone-Puccinelli clan's coffers and criminal hegemony.

The Traiano district and its 24-hour drug supermarket

The Rione Traiano is no ordinary drug dealing hub. For decades, under the management of the historic Puccinelli family (and its offshoot, the Petrone family, led by Francesco Petrone, known as 'o Nano), the Soccavo neighborhood transformed into a veritable drug trafficking hub.

The investigations by the military have reconstructed the vertical structure of the cartel:

Sentinels and lookouts: Strategic observation points positioned on rooftops and at avenue entrances to intercept law enforcement.

Armored logistics: Bunkered drug dealing centers located in basements and public housing units, operating 24 hours a day to supply buyers from across the province.

Shift work: An organized criminal workforce with specific shifts, fixed salaries, and legal assistance for the families of prisoners.

Today's operation is part of a long series of judicial attacks that cyclically attempt to sever the clan's grip on the Rione Traiano: The 2017 mega-blitz: The January 2017 operation that led to the arrest of 86 people linked to the Puccinelli-Cutolo clan, temporarily shutting down drug markets in the district, remains in Neapolitan judicial history.

The arrest of the boss 'o Nano (2020): In December 2020 another blitz by the Carabinieri broke the clan's command line, leading the Petrone clan to prison and demonstrating how the organisation was capable of rapidly reorganising itself despite convictions and repentances.

Despite the severe blows inflicted by the state, the Petrone-Puccinelli clan has maintained leadership of the "upper part" of the Traiano district, historically in conflict with other gangs in Soccavo and Pianura for control of the cocaine and hashish routes.