Massive Cash Haul Uncovered in Naples Apartment

On 23 September 2026, Italian police broke through the walls of a house in Caivano, a suburb of Naples, and recovered €3.2 million (over $3.6 million) in €50 banknotes wrapped in plastic. The cash was hidden in walls, floors and concealed drawers. Investigators also seized 11 luxury Rolex watches valued at more than €127,000, firearms, and paraphernalia linked to drug-selling operations. The raid targeted an alleged mafia-style criminal organization linked to the Angelino clan, which has operated in Caivano and Casoria. A total of 34 people were implicated; 23 were ordered into custody and 11 placed under house arrest. The investigation, spanning activities from 2021 to July 2025, uncovered an “entrepreneurial” structure that staggered shifts for drug trafficking and extortion, with regular deliveries and payment schedules managed largely within families.

Italian police find over $3.6M hidden in walls during organized crime operation

The months-long sting was directed by Neapolitan anti-mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, who said wiretaps of incarcerated mobsters—smuggled phones intercepted by authorities—were crucial to the case. Gratteri announced that the seized money will be transferred to Italy’s Justice Fund, which supports victims of organized crime, and joked that the haul could finance a year’s worth of wiretaps in Naples. Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano referenced the 2023 “Caivano decree,” a government-led urban regeneration and crime-prevention scheme intended as a model for other degraded areas.

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Greens and Left Alliance parliamentarian Francesco Borrelli condemned the raid as a political showcase rather than a decisive blow against organized crime, stating that the reality revealed by the investigation differs from the government’s “clean-up” narrative.

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• “The Caivano decree intends to identify a model of intervention that will apply immediately to Caivano and then, when conditions are right, to other degraded areas in the country,” — Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano

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• “It is a module that takes into consideration not only the scourge of juvenile crime, but also the offer of something positive and alternative to the street, to drug dealing,” — Alfredo Mantovano, cabinet secretary

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• “For months we have witnessed the prime minister and her ministers’ parades, claiming a ‘clean up’ that, in our opinion, was actually portrayed as a definitive victory over organized crime. The reality that emerged from the investigation is different.” — Francesco Borrelli

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