Giuseppe Del Prete, a member of the Mazzarella clan, arrested after being on the run since March 3
Quick Look
- Giuseppe Del Prete, believed to be a top exponent of the Mazzarella clan and on the run since March 3, was arrested at dawn by the Carabinieri in the Forcella district of Naples after being found hidden in a false bottom of a wardrobe.
- The operation is part of an investigation by the Flying Squad coordinated by the Neapolitan Dda, which has documented the clan's activities since 2020, including drug trafficking and extortion, with the contribution of the statements of the justice collaborator Salvatore Giuliano.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The arrest of Giuseppe Del Prete is part of a broader investigation into the operations of the Mazzarella clan in the historic districts of Naples, conducted by the Flying Squad and coordinated by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate, which relied on wiretaps and the statements of the justice collaborator Salvatore Giuliano.
Giuseppe Del Prete, believed to be a top exponent of the Mazzarella clan, had been on the run since March 3 and was arrested at dawn today by the Carabinieri of the Operational Unit of the Napoli-Stella Company after being found by the military in the Forcella district. Del Prete, recipient of a provision issued for the crimes of mafia-style criminal association, an association aimed at the illicit trafficking of narcotic substances, attempted to escape arrest by hiding in a compartment specially created in the false bottom of a wardrobe.
The investigation in which he was investigated, conducted by the Flying Squad of Naples, documented the operations, from 2020 to today, of the criminal groups of the Mazzarella clan, in particular in the areas of Forcella, Maddalena, Tribunali, Mercato, San Gaetano and Case Nuove. The order issued by the investigating judge saw Del Prete but also other members of the Giuliano-Ferraiuolo-Mazzarella criminal cartel investigated. The investigators accuse him of being a prominent affiliate of the Mazzarella clan for which, collaborating with the cartel leaders in all sectors, he organized drug trafficking but also extortion, as demonstrated by his participation in the meetings during which criminal strategies were decided.
The investigations, explains a statement from the Naples Prosecutor's Office signed by the deputy prosecutor Sergio Amato, made use, among other things, of the revelations of the justice collaborator Salvatore Giuliano, nicknamed 'o Russ. Also thanks to the interceptions, the police forces, coordinated by the Neapolitan Anti-Mafia District Directorate, have reconstructed, starting from May 2021, the structures of the Mazzarella clan in the geocriminal area in which Giuseppe Del Prete operated thanks to the tasks entrusted to him by the leaders of the clan which in Naples opposes the mafia federation called Alleanza di Secondigliano.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Continuation of investigations into other members of the Mazzarella clan and the Giuliano-Ferraiuolo-Mazzarella cartel
Likely · Within weeks
Possible new precautionary measures or arrests linked to the statements of the justice collaborator Salvatore Giuliano
Possible · Within months
Open Questions
- Which other members of the Mazzarella clan are still at large?
- What is the actual size of the seizure of assets linked to the operation?
- How will this arrest affect the internal balance of the Giuliano-Ferraiuolo-Mazzarella cartel?
