A joint patrol of the Afragola local police and soldiers from the "Lancieri di Aosta" regiment stopped two overloaded three-wheeled vehicles carrying about two quintals of mixed waste in the Afragola countryside. The two "svuota cantine" operators driving them were reported to the Naples North Prosecutor's Office.
The operation was carried out as part of "Strade Sicure – Terra dei Fuochi," the deployment that assigns Army units to support environmental controls in the area between Naples and Caserta.
What was found
According to the report, the two vehicles were transporting mixed waste described as including both hazardous and non-hazardous materials. The exact categories of waste were not specified.
The patrol intercepted the vehicles before the load could be dumped. The report refers to disposal and possible burning of the waste, but it does not establish that a fire was actually started.
The identities of the two operators were not published.
Seizure and referral
The two three-wheeled vehicles were seized as judicial-police evidence. The seized waste was sent to an ecological island for proper handling.
The two operators were reported for multiple alleged criminal offences. The precise legal provisions underlying the charges were not specified in the report.
Why joint patrols are used in the Terra dei Fuochi
The Afragola stop fits a wider enforcement model described by the Carabinieri, in which a Terra dei Fuochi control room coordinates police forces, the Italian Army and the Metropolitan Police of Naples for environmental-crime prevention and rapid intervention.
That cooperation model is intended to combine local-police checks with military support for patrols and vehicle controls in rural and peri-urban areas affected by illegal dumping.
Patrols, seizures and mapping of dumping sites
Contextual reporting on Army operations in Naples and Caserta says enforcement activity in the wider area has included patrols, vehicle checks, seizures, administrative sanctions and the mapping of dumping sites.
The same secondary report cites 470 new dumping sites identified in 2024. That figure describes the wider area and is not a measurement of this specific Afragola operation.
