Soccer: Balotelli 'found himself around a table of coke'

Naples, 8 Nov. (AKI) - Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli told anti-mafia investigators that during a visit to a gangster stronghold in Naples he found himself staring at a table loaded with cocaine being prepared for sale, Naples daily Il Mattino reported.

Balotelli in June 2010 reportedly accompanied a businessman suspected of laundering money for organized crime figures to the Scampia neighbourhood in Naples, notorious for the stranglehold by the Camorra, as the local mafia is known in the area in and around Naples.

When he encountered the trafficking operation, Balotelli asked to return to his hotel, said the report, citing an transcript of questioning of the 21-year-old Palermo native conducted by investigators .

Balotelli was questioned as a possible witness in September about his visit to Naples. He has said he did not know the people in the room with the cocaine.

Balotelli has earned a bad-boy image for a number of controversial run-ins with team-mates, fans and former boss Jose Mourinho, who has a tense relationship with the forward during their time together at Inter Milan.