The police in Italy have again taken action against the Calabrian mafia – 68 people have been arrested. Everyone becomes suspect of working for the ‘Ndrangheta. They are said to have operated drug deals and extortion.
In a large-scale crackdown on organized crime, 68 suspected mafiosi have been arrested in Italy. They are suspected of having links to the Calabrian mafia ‘Ndrangheta, the Carabinieri said.
A number of people are accused of being involved in the international drug trade using mafia-like methods. Scores of suspects have also been charged with other crimes, including extortion and assault.
Assets were confiscated
Most of those arrested were imprisoned, the rest under house arrest. According to media reports, prominent members of two notorious clans were also arrested in the course of the operation in Cassano allo Ionio, Calabria, and in other towns in the southern Italian province of Cosenza.
These two once rival clans had therefore made a pact in recent years to divide up an area in the province for their alleged criminal businesses. Assets with a total value of around five million euros were also confiscated.
drug and arms trafficking business areas
The Italian authorities repeatedly take action against the various organized crime clans in the south of the Mediterranean country. The ‘Ndrangheta, which has its roots in Calabria, the toe of Italy’s boot, dominates the international drug trade.
But she also earns her money with arms dealing, money laundering and corruption. In the past few decades, the organization has succeeded in expanding more and more into northern Italy.