Canada Global (Web News) More than 100 people were detained by police in Europe on Wednesday as part of a crackdown that delivered a “serious blow” to the Italian ‘Ndrangheta mafia. Suspects were allegedly involved in the trafficking of drugs and firearms with Latin American equivalents.
“Today’s raids are one of the largest operations carried out so far in the fight against Italian organised crime,” said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, adding that they had “dealt a serious blow to the ‘Ndrangheta.”
According to the EU law enforcement organisation Europol, the raid was a component of an investigation that involved Italy, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Romania, Brazil, and Panama.
The network was primarily focused on international drug trafficking from South America to both Europe and Australia, according to a statement from Europol.
Massimiliano D’Angelantonio, the head of the Italian police, claims that the network set up money transfers through Chinese money brokers in Italy and Colombia to pay for cocaine purchases.
In addition to smuggling cocaine from the PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital), a criminal organisation in Brazil, the ‘Ndrangheta clans allegedly also smuggled weaponry from Pakistan to South America.
The Cosa Nostra has been eclipsed by the ‘Ndrangheta as the most potent mafia organisation in the nation and one of the biggest criminal organisations in the world. The ‘Ndrangheta has its origins in the southern Italian region of Calabria.
