Police have arrested three suspected murderers and issued 18 further precautionary measures in a coordinated operation targeting extortion rackets run by the Foggia mafia and its affiliated Gargano clans.
Officers from the Flying Squad carried out the arrests at dawn, in an operation led jointly by the Bari District Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA) and the Foggia Public Prosecutor’s Office, with coordination by the National Anti-Mafia and Counterterrorism Directorate (DNAA).
In total, the operation resulted in three arrests for three murders and two attempted murders, alongside 18 precautionary measures for multiple extortion offences against Foggia businessmen. The extortion activity is alleged to have been carried out using mafia methods with the express purpose of strengthening the Foggia mafia and its associated gangs.
Extensive searches and area patrols are ongoing.
The murders
Two of those arrested are described as prominent figures within the Gargano mafia. They are suspected of the double murder of Nicola Ferrelli and Antonio Petrella, shot dead in Apricena on 20 June 2017. Their arrest was carried out by the Bari SISCO and the Foggia Flying Squad.
A third suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of Stefano Bruno and the attempted murder of brothers Saverio and Pasquale Bruno, which took place in Foggia on 29 April. That arrest was executed by the Foggia Flying Squad and the Operations Unit of the Carabinieri.
The Foggia mafia, sometimes referred to as the Società Foggiana, is considered one of Italy’s most violent criminal organisations, operating alongside the Camorra and the ‘Ndrangheta. Its Gargano branch has been linked to a long-running series of clan feuds and killings across the northern Puglia region.
A press conference is scheduled for 10:30am at the offices of the Foggia Public Prosecutor’s Office, to be attended by the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor.
