With a large-scale operation in several federal states, the police took action against members of the Italian mafia ‘Ndrangheta in the early hours of the morning. Parallel raids also took place in other European countries. More than 1,000 officials were deployed across Germany, including special forces. There were dozens of searches and several arrests. This was announced by the public prosecutor’s offices in Düsseldorf, Koblenz, Saarbrücken and Munich and the state criminal investigation offices in Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland on Wednesday morning. There were also searches in Thuringia.
According to the information, more than 130 emergency services searched ten objects in Bavaria alone, and EU arrest warrants were executed against four people. In North Rhine-Westphalia, around 500 emergency services searched a total of 51 houses, apartments, offices and commercial properties and executed 15 arrest warrants. In Rhineland-Palatinate, around 500 emergency services were also deployed and executed a total of ten arrest warrants and 50 search warrants. They were supported by special units from the federal government and other federal states, as well as by customs and tax investigators. Around 90 emergency services were involved in Saarland, including special units and the riot police.
The procedure is being conducted by a joint international investigative team, in which Europol and Eurojust are also involved, and runs under the code name “Operation Eureka”. In addition to Italy, which is the focus of the campaign, authorities from Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain also took part. A total of 108 arrest warrants were executed during the large-scale international operation.
Almost all suspects come from the Calabrian mountain village of San Luca
According to MDR and FAZ, the focus of the investigations, which have been running in great secrecy for almost four years, is international drug trafficking, especially cocaine. In addition, the suspects are accused of money laundering, arms trafficking, corruption and membership of a criminal organization, among other things.
The ‘Ndrangheta is one of the most powerful mafia organizations in the world and has long been active internationally beyond Italy’s borders. The ‘Ndrangheta is native to the region of Calabria, the toe of Italy’s boot on the mainland opposite the island of Sicily. Some experts estimate their turnover at more than 100 billion euros. There are around 160 clans in Calabria with an estimated 6000 members.
Almost all of the suspects who were being searched for worldwide as part of “Operation Eureka” come from the Calabrian mountain village of San Luca. Many are related and belong to the ‘Ndrangheta clans there. The village with just 3400 inhabitants is considered a stronghold of the Calabrian mafia. San Luca became known in Germany when six men were shot dead in front of a pizzeria in Duisburg in August 2007. Not only the victims came from San Luca, but also the perpetrators.