Members of the notorious ‘Ndrangheta Italian mafia have been targeted in a police sting launched simultaneously in several countries on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of police are understood to be involved in the operation in Belgium, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
Italian police said there have been at least 90 arrests – but the operation is still ongoing elsewhere.<\/p>\n
The ‘Ndrangheta mafia are accused of cocaine trafficking, money laundering, bribery and violence.<\/p>\n
Homes, Italian restaurants and other businesses were all targeted in the raids.<\/p>\n
Eurojust – the European judicial cooperation body involved – said operation “Pollino” had been in motion since 2016, and that official details would be released at a news conference later on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The ‘Ndrangheta mafia comes from Calabria in southern Italy. While the Sicilian Mafia was made famous in films and television, ‘Ndrangheta is thought to control as much as 80% of Europe’s cocaine trade, and with some 6,000 members, is a substantial and far-spread force in European crime.<\/p>\n
Germany’s Der Spiegel reported that the German operation was mostly concentrated in North Rhine-Westphalia – a stronghold for the mafia – and involved 240 police and another 240 support staff from the federal criminal agency.<\/p>\n
Dutch outlet NOS said that the ‘Ndrangheta are known to operate its drug smuggling through the country’s vibrant flower-trading industry. Meanwhile, in Belgium, broadcaster VRT reported that police were focused on the province of Limburg.<\/p>\n
The operation comes a day after\u00a0Italian police arrested the supposed new “godfather” of the Sicilian Mafia<\/a>, Settimo Mineo, in a dawn raid.<\/p>\n The 80-year-old jeweller is believed to have been chosen as the successor to Toto Riina, who died in jail a year ago. The new leader of the Cosa Nostra network was arrested alongside some 45 associates, in a move Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said “dismantled” the leadership.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"