It’s one robbery of drug couriers of a shipment of narcotics destined for an opposing clan the heart of ainvestigation by the Carabinieri of the Investigative Unit of Naples which led to the execution of an order for the application of the precautionary measure of the custody in prison issued by the Neapolitan investigating judge against 9 under investigation for various reasons mafia-style criminal association, robbery, possession of narcotic substances and possession of firearms, crimes aggravated by the mafia method.
The investigations cover a time span ranging from 2023 to 2025 and, also through targeted technical activities, have made it possible to ascertain and reconstruct the organizational and executive phases of the armed robbery occurred in Casavatore in April 2023, carried out by the named gang Vanella Grassi against two Calabrian couriers responsible for the transport of 20 kilos of cocaine, intended for Amato-Pagano, the Di Lauro splinter groups from the first Camorra feud in the northern area of Naples, currently hegemonic in control of the drug dealing centers between Melito and the Neapolitan neighborhoods of Scampia and Secondigliano.
During the investigations, in response, some were also interviewed collaborators of justice, which made it possible to identify the exact location of the event, ascertain the motivations as well as the actual organizers and material executors of the criminal action.
The role of Giovanni Nirta and the Calabrians
Among the nine arrested there is also Giovanni Nirta, 28 years old, who, as can be seen from the precautionary measure issued by investigating judge Carla Sarno seen by AGI, escorted with another suspect, Sebastiano Romeo, in an Audi RS Q3, the Fiat Bravo driven by Andrea Giuliani, also under investigation, inside which there were 20 kilos of cocaine intended for the Amato-Paganos.
Gratteri: the supply of drugs by the ‘ndrina is new
“The new element of these presumed innocent people that we arrested this morning is this direct relationship with the ‘Ndrangheta.” The chief prosecutor of Naples, Nicola Gratteri, says this, commenting on today’s arrests in the Vanella Grassi clan and in the Reggio Calabria Nirta-Strangio gang. The ‘ndrina «supplied a Camorra group with cocaine. On one of the occasions when cocaine was brought here to Naples, a robbery was carried out by the Camorra against these two ndrangheta supporters. Now, the problem is that we are a little worried about the reaction of the ‘Ndrangheta.” On the sidelines of the conference which illustrated the results of an investigation and the Carabinieri operation this morning, the prosecutor explains that “when we ascertained that these 20 kg of cocaine were stolen from the ‘ndrangheta, I don’t know what the reaction could be, then we asked the people who we believe to be the protagonists of this robbery, whether they feel in danger or not, whether they intend to be protected”. «It’s a choice, it can’t be imposed – he explains – these things have happened to me many times in Calabria. Obviously the police are on maximum alert, regardless of the subject’s will or otherwise”, he concludes.
The Vanella Grassi triumvirate after the arrests of the bosses
Vanella Grassi, after the arrest of several bosses, has been governed by a since 6 May 2020 triumvirate composed of Gaetano Angrisano, Antonio Coppola and Giuseppe Corcione, all recipients of the ordinance carried out today by the military of the Carabinieri.
The three, for all collaborators of justice, are the cornerstones of the gang operating in Naples in the Scampia and San Pietro a Patierno districts. Corcione is responsible for Vanella Grassi’s drug dealing and the Calabrians, through the Contini clan, have asked him for the return of the stolen cocaine. Angrisano, however, intervened to prevent it.
The tip-off and the reward of 120 thousand euros
The tip-off from Simone Bartiromo, at the time Amato-Pagano’s contact person for the supply of drugs, who later moved on to Vanella Grassi. As justice collaborator Raffaele Paone said in an interrogation on 5 September 2024, «I believe he has a big problem with the Calabrians and, on the other hand, with the Amato-Paganos, with whom he had a large debt. With this episode, in fact, Simone passed with us.”
After the robbery and the failed attempt to recover the load of 20 kilos of cocaine, the Calabrian families were reluctant to have relationships with the Neapolitan ones. A warning was also placed on Simone Bartiromo – who had informed the Vanella Grassi clan of the arrival of the load – reward of 120,000 euros, by Giovanni Nirta and Sebastiano Romeo.
The kidnapping plan and the refusal
From the investigations of the Carabinieri of Naples, which revealed among other things a direct supply relationship between an ‘ndrina and the Amato-Pagano, it also emerges that they would have been asked to kidnap the wife of the man who had provided the information on the arrival of the cargo to the Vanella Grassi clan. The person who was asked to do so refused.
Torture and punitive murder: “the ‘Ndrangheta cannot be defrauded”
The robbery of a large load of drugs against the Ndrangheta, carried out by the Vanella Grassi clan of Secondigliano, led to the torture and then to the punitive murder of a Calabrian: bloody, gruesome images, published as a warning on an encrypted chat frequented by the mafia which can only be accessed with particular telephones. This was revealed by one of the justice collaborators who made it possible to shed light on the robbery of 20 kg of cocaine against the Nirta Strangio gang, carried out in April 2023. The “mistake” was documented as part of the investigation by the Carabinieri and the Naples Prosecutor’s Office which resulted today in nine arrests. The circumstance was made known on 23 December 2024, during an interrogation: «The Calabrians held another Calabrian responsible, the latter killed live… the video was made “publicly” on the encrypted files so that all the criminal groups on the platform were aware that the ndrangheta cannot be defrauded with impunity».