Rome [Italy], June 28: Police in the southern Italian region of Calabria have arrested 43 people in a large-scale raid on local organised crime structures.
Those taken into custody are suspected of having links to the notorious Calabrian 'Ndrangheta mafia group, according to a statement released by the Carabinieri force on Tuesday. Many stand accused of fraud, extortion, bribery and murder and were detained in jail, while others were placed under house arrest.
The possible influence of organised crime on local politics was also part of the investigation. According to Italian media reports, some former politicians from Calabria were also targeted by the raid on suspicion of organising elections in cahoots with the mafia. These individuals are now under investigation.
The suspects in Tuesday's operation already came under the scrutiny of investigators in 2018. Since then, the authorities concentrated on tracking the assets of those arrested, as well as their political and economic ties. The focus was reportedly on the prominent Megna family, said to be enmeshed in the 'Ndrangheta.
According to the prosecutor's office in Catanzaro, the family was also involved in alleged criminal activities in Germany and Austria. Investigators also found that the suspects had perpetrated fraudulent banking and financial transactions with the support of German hackers.
A suspected member of 'Ndrangheta was also arrested in the German city of Münster on Tuesday, prosecutors said.
Source: Qatar Tribune