Two cars were stripped during the night in Via Petrarca, in Posillipo, Naples. Rather than stealing the vehicles, the thieves removed selected parts, including bodywork, leaving the cars dismantled where they were parked.

The incident was reported by Il Mattino, which described the thefts as targeted removals of chosen components rather than attempts to take the entire cars.

A reported sequence in the same street

Subsequent coverage reported a sequence of vehicle-cannibalization incidents in Via Petrarca. The vehicles named in the reports include a Peugeot 3008 and an Audi A1, followed by a third vehicle stripped within less than a week.

According to those reports, the thieves removed front-end components from the targeted cars. The vehicles were described as medium-to-high-value cars, with new values estimated in the 30,000–40,000 euro range.

The reports do not establish whether all of the incidents were committed by the same offenders.

Why commissioned theft is suspected

The reported pattern has raised the hypothesis of a professional group or thefts carried out on commission.

In this account, the selection of specific parts, rather than whole vehicles, points investigators and observers toward possible resale through the illicit spare-parts market. That remains a hypothesis: no source confirms that investigators have established the existence of an organized professional gang, and the commissioned-theft explanation has not been presented as a confirmed finding.

Call for lighting and cameras

Following the overnight stripping of the two cars, local councillor Gennaro Demetrio Papais called for improved street lighting and video-surveillance cameras in the area.

The request links the incidents to visibility and monitoring in Via Petrarca, where the reported cases occurred.

What is still not known

For readers following the case, the limits of the available information matter:

  • No arrests, recovered parts, identified suspects, or status of any police investigation have been reported in the sources.
  • It has not been confirmed that the incidents form a single series.
  • The intended destination of the stolen components has not been confirmed; resale through the illicit spare-parts market is reported as a possible explanation.

The practical takeaway is therefore limited to the reported facts: two cars were dismantled overnight in Via Petrarca, additional similar cases in the same street have been reported, and a request for better lighting and cameras has been made. There is no confirmed finding of an organized gang or commissioned-theft operation at this stage.