Italian police find more than €3m hidden in alleged drug lord’s home

Italian police have recovered more than three million euros in cash hidden inside a property in Caivano, a suburb of Naples, according to anti-mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, who spoke to AFP. The money was found in compartments inside walls and in hiding places beneath the floor and a shower tray. Police also seized Kalashnikovs, other weapons and 11 Rolex watches.

The property was linked to an alleged drug lord, and investigators believe the cash was probably proceeds from drug sales, Gratteri said. The raid followed information from a suspect arrested in July 2025 who became a state witness. Police then dismantled parts of the house because they knew money was present but not where it had been concealed.

Electronic security systems reportedly protected the hiding places. The seizure formed part of an investigation that began in 2023 and led to the arrest on Monday of 34 people accused of belonging to an armed criminal association and using mafiosi methods to traffic narcotics. The cash and weapons had been seized from the Caivano property last year, Gratteri said.

Investigators used wiretaps before the raid. Gratteri said intercepted communications were essential in organised-crime investigations and criticised new restrictions on their use. Caivano has previously received government attention, but Gratteri said drug dealing had shifted elsewhere.