In 2000s Paolo Di Lauro was wanted in connection with the distribution of cocaine and other drugs, imported from South America into Italy and especially in the Neapolitan neighbourhoods of Scampìa and Secondigliano.

[citation needed] Di Lauro, the head of the Camorra clan that ran the northern suburbs, presided over a tightly managed drug empire that imported cocaine and heroin and distributed it through an army of dealers.

[2] Despite a niggling and semi-permanent feud with nearby Licciardi clan, Di Lauro kept his couriers – "the Spaniards" as they are widely known because of their endless trips ferrying cocaine from Galicia in Spain – and his street pushers and the other components of his empire under brutally tight control.

The feud caused widespread public revulsion against the Camorra and led to a major crackdown by the authorities, resulting in the capture and imprisonment of Paolo Di Lauro and his sons Ciro (b.

[7] After Di Lauro's son Cosimo was picked up in January 2005, his photograph began showing up as decoration on the mobile cellphones of young people in Naples.