Naples Crackdown: The “Hole-in-the-Wall” Gang has been dismantled

In Naples, the hole-in-the-wall gang was disbanded. Since the early hours of the morning, the carabinieri of the Central Company of Naples executed an arrest warrant in prison, issued by the GIP of the Court of Naples, at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, against 6 people strongly suspected, for various reasons, of criminal association that pursues committing property crimes and, in particular, robberies and thefts carried out using the so-called “hole-in-the-wall” technique. The investigation, which began in November 2023, allowed, through interception activities, video surveillance, and observation services, to outline the existence and organizational chart of a group of people dedicated in a stable and organized manner to the planning of predatory crimes carried out through the technique of entering the city underground . The targeted objectives were identified and monitored, and the excavation phases were followed, thanks to the availability of storage spaces located in strategic points for access to the sewer network and connection to the city’s underground. Among the reconstructed “final crimes” were: the qualified robbery committed against the Piazza Carità branch of a well-known fast food chain, during which the associates, after entering the sewer network and carrying out lengthy underground excavation activities, entered the establishment masked and disguised, confiscating cash at gunpoint, totaling 8,200.00 euros; the qualified theft committed in the premises of a Tobacco Shop, located near Piazza Bovio, in which the suspects, after entering the premises from underground, confiscated tobacco, tax stamps, electronic cigarettes, razors and lottery tickets, in total value of approx. €40,000.00. The stolen goods were found and subjected to the constraint of criminal seizure; the attempted robbery committed against the post office in Piazza Matteotti, planned in every detail to seize the cash transported by the Security Institute to the post offices. The criminal intent, which reached the completion of excavation operations in the urban underground, was foiled only thanks to the timely intervention of the personnel of the Central Carabinieri Company of Naples; attempted robbery committed against the bank branch in Piazza Bovio of a well-known Credit Institution, with the aim of seizing the money kept inside the related ATM. The criminal intent, which reached the completion of excavation operations in the urban underground, was foiled only thanks to the timely intervention of the personnel of the Central Carabinieri Company of Naples; creation of a false document (electronic identity card on which false personal data and the photographic image of a man from the front were reported) used to sign the lease contract for a warehouse used as a logistical base for storing stolen materials and goods, as well as for access to sewage channels. Some of the recipients of the preventive measure executed today are subjects with specific criminal records for crimes of predation using the “hole in the wall” technique. The implemented measure is a precautionary measure, ordered during preliminary investigations, against which appeals are allowed, and their recipients are persons under investigation and therefore presumed innocent until a final judgment is issued.