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Associated with Italy’s strongest mafia group, 150 people were arrested across Europe. Photo/Illustras/Sindonews
BRUSSELS – More than 150 people have been arrested throughout German , Spanish and Italia after a three-year investigation into Italy’s most powerful mafia group.
Italian and Belgian investigators believe that suspected members of the Ndrangheta organized crime group smuggled nearly 25 tons of cocaine between October 2019 and January 2022.
The group is also accused of funneling more than 22 million euros or around Rp. 356.5 billion from Calabria in Italy to Belgium, the Netherlands and South America.
The Ndrangheta is based in the southern region of Calabria, and has surpassed the Cosa Nostra (Sicilian mafia) to become the most powerful mafia group in Italy and arguably the richest organized crime group in the world.
Italy’s Carabinieri police were supported by helicopters as they made 108 arrests in various cities across the country in an investigation based in the southern city of Reggio Calabria, they said in a statement.
Another 15 people were detained on police orders in the northwestern Italian port city of Genoa.
Those arrested were accused, among other things, of being involved in a mafia association, drug and arms trafficking, and money laundering.
Photos released by law enforcement in Italy show weapons, drugs and an undisclosed amount of money seized in the raid.
Meanwhile, thousands of German policemen were involved in searches that led to the arrest of dozens of suspects in early morning raids.
