The underground 'fortress' of the Lattari Mountains drug traffickers has been dismantled.

There's a precise point where vegetation ceases to be merely nature and becomes an invisible infrastructure of crime. In Franche di Sotto, on that thin and impervious border separating the municipalities of Pimonte and Gragnano, the land yields not only roots, but also the secret caches of drug lords.

It is here, in the heart of the woods historically controlled by the Di Martino clan—the dominant gang in the area that manages the drug business in this mountainous part of Campania—that the last, very harsh raid of Operation "Continuum Bellum IV" took place.

The Carabinieri officers of Castellammare di Stabia, supported by specialists from the Calabria Helicopter Squadron, combed the area meter by meter. A methodical effort, requiring stealthy steps, careful scrutiny, and extreme physical effort amidst brambles and ravines.
Agro24

The vault-bins and the arsenal for war

What gave the drug traffickers away was a tiny, almost imperceptible anomaly in the terrain and vegetation layout. Beneath layers of earth and mud, the Carabinieri uncovered a veritable criminal vault: airtight underground bins containing 74 kilos of dried marijuana, ready for distribution to the drug dealing centers.

Not just narcotics. Inside the underground hideouts, the criminal commando had set up a veritable logistics and military warehouse: 41 bullets of various calibers were recovered—including 18 rounds specifically for AK-47 (Kalashnikov) assault rifles—as well as three balaclavas and a complete kit for cleaning and maintaining weapons. A clear sign that the Lattari woods are not just places of intensive cultivation, but veritable armed strongholds.

The precedents on the Lattari Mountains

The raid in Franche di Sotto is not an isolated incident, but is part of a broader and more relentless strategy of territorial control conducted by law enforcement to curb the economic and military power of the Castellammare clans. The Lattari Mountains, for decades considered a sort of illegal "greenfield" for cannabis production thanks to their microclimate and the isolation of inaccessible valleys and gorges, have been targeted by a series of high-impact operations.

In the previous weeks alone, Operation Continuum Bellum has repeatedly struck blows to the local clans' supply system, uncovering hidden plantations, clandestine weapons caches, and large quantities of counterfeit money.

Although no arrests have been made in connection with the latest discovery—confirming how drug lords can quickly escape by exploiting the dense network of mountain trails—the market value of the seized marijuana, combined with the discovered arsenal, inflicts an estimated economic loss of over a million euros on the coffers of organized crime.