Municipal police in Afragola have seized two businesses used for storing animal by-products and reported both owners to the prosecutor's office at Napoli Nord. The operation, carried out in less than a week, followed persistent complaints from residents about foul odors in the area.
According to Il Mattino, the inspections were conducted by Afragola's Polizia Locale together with technical personnel from Arpac, the regional environmental protection agency. The operation was led by municipal police commander Antonio Piricelli.
The facilities under inspection included a vehicle yard, a warehouse used for the temporary storage of animal by-products, and offices. Inspectors reported that the businesses were operating without the required environmental authorizations.
What inspectors reportedly found
Reports describe deficiencies in containment, hygiene, and wastewater management at the sites.
Inspectors reported the absence of nebulizers, systems normally used to limit odors and insects around animal materials, and the absence of a watertight closing door. They also reported that the facilities lacked authorization to discharge wastewater into the sewer system.
One of the reported sites, in the Scafatella area of Afragola, was described in particular detail. Ottopagine reports that inspectors found the facility without nebulizers, without a watertight door, and without the required wastewater-discharge authorization. The activity and its adjoining area were placed under judicial seizure.
Edizione Caserta reports that officers found stagnant animal blood near drainage grates, with bones and fat accumulated on the floor. In that case, the reported seizure covered the business activity, its buildings, and the adjoining area. The owner was reported while remaining free pending assessment by the judicial authority.
Residents' complaints led authorities to the sites
Both Il Mattino and Ottopagine link the inspections to persistent bad odors noticed by local residents. The complaints helped direct authorities to the storage facilities and prompted the joint checks by municipal police and Arpac technicians.
The exact addresses of the two sites and the identities of the owners have not been reported in the accounts acquired so far. The available reports describe two seizures reported by Il Mattino, while Ottopagine and Edizione Caserta give detailed accounts of a facility in Scafatella; the precise relationship between those descriptions remains unclear.
What happens next
The two owners have been reported to the Napoli Nord prosecutor's office. The reported environmental violations and the judicial basis for the seizures remain subject to assessment by the competent authorities.
No verified measurement of the quantity of animal by-products held at the sites has been provided in the reports. What is documented is an accumulation of organic material under conditions inspectors considered non-compliant, leading to the seizure of the activities, buildings, and surrounding areas concerned.
