Naples prosecutors on Thursday asked an appeals court to recognise an aggravating factor of Mafia activity, hitherto always denied, in the case of a 26-year-old man shot dead and dissolved in acid in 2000 because mistakenly taken for the undesired lover of the sister of a Camorra member.

The victim, Giulio Giaccio, was abducted on July 30 2000, killed with a pistol shot to the back of the head and his body dissolved in acid so no remains would ever be found.