New raid on dangerous criminal organization in Italy

It was reported that 61 people were arrested in operations against “Ndrangheta”, one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in Italy.

According to the BBC report, more than 500 police officers were involved in the operations against Ndrangheta in 7 different regions of Italy. In the operations that searched for 167 Ndrangheta members, 61 people were detained on suspicion of committing “fraud”, “drug trafficking”, “infiltrating the government” and “extorting money from local farmers”.

108 people were arrested in a series of coordinated raids against the organization on May 3 across Europe. In the operations in which 10 countries participated, assets of the organization in Europe for a value of 25 million euros were confiscated.

The operation, codenamed “Eureka”, was described as “the largest international police operation to date against the southern Italian-based Ndrangheta mafia group.”

Known as one of the most dangerous crime syndicates in Italy, Ndrangheta is believed to have smuggled large amounts of cocaine into Europe from South America, primarily using large commercial container ports in Belgium and the Netherlands. According to investigators, the group’s money laundering network operates mainly in Germany, Belgium and Portugal, investing in restaurants and real estate in various countries.

It is reported that the organization has committed various crimes such as fraud, drug trafficking, infiltration of the State, and blackmailing local residents who generally work in agriculture.

Pasquale Bonavota, the alleged leader of the Ndrangheta, was captured in a cathedral in the northern city of Genoa last month.

While hundreds of members of the organization and officials who took bribes from them have so far been jailed, hundreds of people suspected of being connected to the Mancuso family, which runs the organization, are still on trial. (AA)