Rome - A fugitive linked to the bloody Camorra Mafia turf wars that have plagued Naples in recent months was arrested on Tuesday while attempting to seek refuge in Rome, Italian police said.
Alessandro Giannelli, 38, led of one of the dozens of Camorra clans vying for territorial control in Naples.
He had been on the run since the end of last year, and was wanted for several crimes such as attempted racketeering, assault and carrying weapons illegally.
Last year alone, there were 69 murders in Naples, up 40 percent from 2014.
Experts have linked it to rivalries between young mafia upstarts, some in their teens, trying to fill the shoes of older criminals arrested by police.
“In Naples and its province there are at least 70 criminal gangs,” local police chief Fausto Lamparelli told the La Stampa daily two weeks ago, adding that the situation was “chaotic” and that even established mafia families were concerned about it.
On Sunday, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said he would deploy the army to help police the streets in the southern Italian metropolis.
“We've had extraordinary results fighting the Camorra in Naples. Entire generations of clans are in prison... but I am unhappy about one thing: crime is falling everywhere, but murders are increasing in Naples. We have to stop the gunfire,” he told news channel SkyTG24.
In a parallel development, Rome police arrested five Camorra affiliates of the Moccia crime family and placed another two under house arrest, seizing illegally-gained assets worth around 1 million euros (1.1 million dollars).
DPA