The Madonna del Arco has a porcelain complexion and a bloody left cheek. This icon, prized by the most devout Neapolitans, is multiplied in frescoes and statuettes in the premises of the liturgical association dedicated to her veneration, nestled in the intertwined streets of the dark-tiled Mercato-Pendino district. Miraculous cures are attributed to her, but behind the doors of this small sanctuary another feat was accomplished: the multiplication of counterfeit banknotes. 20, 50 and 100 euros.
Large specimens were stored in this unexpected ground floor converted into a safe by a group of counterfeiters led by three brothers-in-law. Transactions were carried out during office hours (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 12pm on Sundays) on the surrounding sidewalks or at the counter of the Vigilante bar, a bar located at the end of the street.
Like this afternoon of January 26, 2023, where, without suspecting that they had been intervened by the carabinieri, the counterfeiters were waiting for two foreign clients. “There are French people arriving today at four in the afternoon in Capodichino. [l’aéroport de la ville] »said one. “The moment of making the exchange, and then they can stay wherever they want, does not matter to us. (…) We don’t know who these guys are, but we can go to the bar across the street.”his friend answers. Moments later, the men are doing business on the street and immediately part ways, as if the meeting had never happened.
The two French customers had barely received their order and were on their way to the airport. They were arrested at 7.30pm, before they could board their return flight, with 329 counterfeit 50 euro notes and 50 100 euro notes in their luggage. This arrest is part of a long-running investigation into the resale sector established in this labyrinthine district.
Behind the hustle and bustle of the Mercato-Pendino, a discreet network of military organisations is thriving, distributing the majority of counterfeit banknotes in circulation in Europe (467,000 counterfeit banknotes were seized in 2023, an annual increase of 24%, according to the European Central Bank). More than 50% of those seized in France, the largest market on the continent, come from Naples, according to the Central Office for the Fight against Counterfeiting (OCRFM).
In the case of the Mercato-Pendino district, 63 people were arrested over several months, until the beginning of April. They are suspected of having counterfeited a total of 60 million euros. In addition to the two French buyers caught red-handed, an Italian, already imprisoned in Grasse (Alpes-Maritimes) for drug trafficking, is believed to be one of the French replacements for this network of counterfeiters dubbed the “Napoli Group” by international investigators.
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