Italy
Blow the Mafia – More than 100 arrests
Numerous suspects were arrested during operations against the mafia in Italy (symbol image). photo
© Bernd Wüstneck/dpa
Drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion – in Italy the police have taken action against the mafia. Many suspects ended up in jail.
Italian investigators took action against around 140 suspected mafiosi in two nationwide operations. On the mainland, police arrested 65 suspects in southern Italy’s Calabria and 13 in northern Brescia, authorities said. They are said to belong to the Calabrian mafia ‘Ndrangheta.
The public prosecutor accuses them of mafia association, drug trafficking, money laundering and extortion. A large number ended up in prison, the rest were put under house arrest or received reporting requirements.
The investigations allowed investigators to look deeper into the inner workings of the notorious ‘Ndrangheta clan “cosca Bellocco” from Rosarno, not far from the port city of Gioia Tauro, as the statement went on to say. The family has been active there for several generations in the drug and arms trade. After the death of the longtime leader in October, his grandson took over the leadership.
Gioia Tauro is considered an important transshipment point in the international drug trade. Ships from South America arrive there. In the past, the port authorities made massive finds of cocaine worth millions in shipping containers. The ‘Ndrangheta is one of the leading mafia organizations in the European drug trade.
In another operation against organized crime on the island of Sicily, police arrested around 60 people. 48 of them went to prison. The suspects have to answer for drug trafficking between Calabria and Sicily. According to the information, they operated primarily in Messina, where ferries from the Calabrian metropolitan region of Reggio Calabria arrive.