Secondigliano: Five shots fired into the Di Lauro stronghold: new recruits attack

Naples – Five gunshots fired in rapid succession. According to initial reports, the shooters were two men who arrived on a motorcycle and then quickly drove away.

The scene is Via Dante, in Secondigliano, a particularly sensitive area from a criminal perspective and historically linked to the presence of the Di Lauro clan.

The choice of location is a detail investigators cannot ignore. Because in an area where territorial control has always been one of the main forms of criminal power, shooting also sends a message.

But which?

It's still too early to tell. And this is precisely the question the investigation will have to answer: was it a prank, an act of intimidation aimed at someone who lives or works in the area, or a show of force part of a broader process of redefining the balance of power?

The game for control of the territory

Secondigliano isn't a criminally homogeneous area. On the contrary, the neighborhood has been home to diverse groups for years, with spheres of influence, economic interests, and relationships that can change rapidly.

The latest DIA report describes the Licciardi clan as still operating in the Secondigliano area, while it notes the permanence of the Di Lauro clan and the presence of Vanella Grassi. The same documentation highlights how arrests and collaboration with the justice system have led to changes in the structure and balance of power over time.

It is a fundamental element for reading what is happening today.

Because when old leaders disappear, when some groups are targeted by arrests, and at the same time criminal figures return to the territory after long periods of detention, the problem isn't just about succession at the top. It's especially about who controls the streets, who collects the proceeds, who guarantees supplies, and who dictates the rules in the area.

Berlingieri and the disruption of the balance

One of the most obvious signs came from the Berlingieri district.

Last March, an investigation by the Anti-Mafia Department (DDA) led to 11 precautionary measures against individuals accused, on various counts, of drug trafficking, robbery, and extortion, with mafia-related aggravating circumstances. At the center of the investigation was the so-called "111 square," believed to be linked to the interests of the Licciardi and Vanella Grassi clans.

The subsequent investigative reconstruction highlighted how the Licciardis and Vanella Grassi had developed forms of shared interests in the management of drug trafficking within the Berlingieri family, overcoming, at least in that specific situation, the logic of head-on confrontation.

And this is precisely where one of the keys to understanding the current phase emerges. When a criminal equilibrium built on the division of business is undermined by arrests, someone must fill the vacated space.

The new pressure of Masseria Cardone

At the end of August, members of the old guard of the Licciardi branch of the Masseria Cardone clan returned, along with the recruitment of new members. According to investigators, the goal was to strengthen the gang's presence in the northern area, with interests also focused on Miano, Piscinola, and Don Guanella.

All this would have led to tensions within the Licciardi area, between the Masseria Cardone and Berlingieri groups. This friction arose from differing views on territorial expansion. This makes the interpretation of the shootings on Via Dante even more complex.

And the Di Lauros?

The clan that for years represented one of the main centers of criminal power in Secondigliano continues to be considered operational, albeit profoundly transformed since the years of the Scampia feud.

In May 2026, an operation by the Carabinieri and the Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA) led to 14 arrests as part of a drug trafficking investigation attributed to a subgroup linked to the Di Lauros. According to investigators, the organization operated in Secondigliano and other city neighborhoods, also obtaining supplies through contacts with Albanian criminal organizations. The investigations primarily covered the period from 2019 to 2023.

Therefore, the group's operational capacity cannot simply be considered a thing of the past.

At the same time, investigations in recent years have revealed a transformation in the criminal model: less military exposure, greater attention to trafficking, financial availability, and economic activities.

The releases that change the map

Another factor to keep under observation is the return to the area of ​​some historical exponents of the Secondigliano Alliance.

In July, several high-ranking members of the cartel were released from prison, either for serving their sentences or for other reasons. Among them were Giovanni Cesarano, Pietro Licciardi Jr., and Diego Vastarella. Investigators are monitoring the impact of these returns on the balance of power in the northern Naples area.

This is a development that could have implications for the criminal landscape, but it doesn't automatically justify speaking of a new Camorra war.

The precedent of the August "stesa"

The shooting in the Berlingieri district on August 8th nevertheless represents a significant precedent.

Two young men, their faces covered by helmets, drove by on scooters while numerous people were in the street, and one of them fired into the air. One bullet grazed a woman with her child. Police recovered shell casings and acquired CCTV footage.

The investigative lead leads to a clash between young people linked to the Licciardi and Vanella Grassi clans over control of drug dealing activities following the arrest of several pushers.

If we also consider the wounding of the 19-year-old in Via Don Puglisi on September 8th and that of the 36-year-old on September 10th, at least a close succession of violent episodes emerges that deserves to be read as a whole, without automatically attributing a Camorra origin to each event.

The track of the "changes of sides"

This is probably one of the most delicate aspects to check.

In highly fragmented territories, the loss of men, positions, and contacts can lead to individual departures from one group to another. This is what has reportedly been happening in recent weeks with a widespread exodus of Di Lauro members towards rival clans.

And then there are the arrests and collaborations that have changed the area's structure over the years, while the remaining organizations have sought new balances and new forms of collaboration. The DIA has described this very phenomenon in several reports on the Secondigliano and Scampia areas.

And it is precisely on this ground that the current tensions could mature.

The question that is now on the table

For investigators, therefore, the issue will not only be identifying who actually shot the gunman.

We will need to understand who was supposed to receive that message.

If the goal had been to intimidate a specific individual, the incident might have been limited. However, if the five shots had been fired to signal the presence of a group in an area considered "others'," the meaning would be very different.

Even more delicate would be the hypothesis of a show of force linked to the redefinition of drug dealing areas.

Public and private security cameras in the area, any witness statements, and above all, the reconstruction of the movements of the two men on the motorcycle could provide investigators with decisive evidence.

Because in Secondigliano, where the Camorra wars have left a long trail of blood over the years, even five shots fired in a street can represent much more than a simple episode of violence.

Or they may not represent it at all. The investigation will determine that.