Naples, 'Hide and Seek' with the Carabinieri: Man escaped for a month, found in his mother's closet

Naples – Apparently, for those trying to evade capture, a closet might seem like a better refuge than a security door. But Neapolitan news reports suggest it doesn't always work.

The protagonist of this story is Alessio Esposito, 22, an inmate in Bellizzi Irpino prison, in the province of Avellino. On September 16th, he was granted leave to attend his daughter's baptism. A family occasion, however, that was not followed by the expected return to prison.

Since that day, the young man had disappeared, prompting a search by law enforcement. He remained unaccounted for for about a month, until the Carabinieri of the Giugliano in Campania operations unit managed to locate him.

The door remains closed, the soldiers enter from the balcony

The raid took place at the mother's home in Piazza Mercato, Naples. When the officers knocked on the door, no one answered. At that point, to reach the apartment, the Carabinieri entered through a balcony.

The building had been surrounded, making it difficult for the 22-year-old to escape through the exits. Esposito then sought shelter in the closet, apparently hoping not to be spotted.

A hiding place that, however, didn't withstand the search. The police quickly found him, ending his brief escape.

From Bellizzi Irpino to Poggioreale

Once identified, the young man was arrested and taken back to prison. No longer in Bellizzi Irpino, where he had been held before receiving parole, but in the Poggioreale penitentiary in Naples.

Esposito will have to serve a remaining sentence of three months and two days in prison, according to what was reported in the reconstruction of the incident.

Boss Del Prete's precedent: another hiding place behind a wardrobe

The 22-year-old's case isn't an isolated incident in recent Neapolitan news. Only a few weeks ago, the Carabinieri captured mafia boss Giuseppe Del Prete, identified in Forcella in a hidden compartment behind his daughter's closet.

Two stories with different protagonists and different legal contexts, but united by a detail that seems to have come straight from a comedy script: the wardrobe chosen as a last resort to avoid being found.

In Esposito's case, however, even that didn't help. After about a month of being untraceable, the home hideout proved to be just a stopover before he was returned to prison.