Hundreds Arrested In Massive Anti-Mafia Crackdown Across Italy, Germany

A massive mafia crackdown across two European countries resulted in millions of dollars worth of seized assets and hundreds of arrests. The ‘Ndrangheta organized crime syndicate suffered a major blow Tuesday as police went on a sudden, coordinated strike against crime leaders and complicit businesses in Germany and Italy, Reuters reported.

169 ‘Ndrangheta members were arrested in total, a tally that included mayors of towns in the region as well as prominent local businessmen. The bulk of the arrests occurred in the crime organization’s home turf of Calabria, one of the southernmost regions of Italy. A dozen or so arrests also took place in Germany. According to the Reuters report, many of those arrested were in charge of restaurants and funeral services.

Aside from arresting members of the syndicate, assets were confiscated from their businesses, totaling about $60 million in value, CBS News reported.

The crux of the operation, per the CBS News report, was to force non-mob-affiliated businesses out of the area, meaning anyone wanted bread had to buy it from the bakery ‘Ndrangheta owned. This influence extended north into Germany, where businesses were forced to import from mafia-linked sellers. In doing this, the ‘Ndrangheta rose in power over the Cosa Nostra syndicate.

The raid was carried out with helicopters and attack dogs, according to The Daily Beast. Three town mayors were reportedly included in the arrests, meaning the alleged corruption went up to high levels of local governance. Several news outlets emphasized that the crime family’s influence could be felt in nearly all aspects of life in the affected regions. The Daily Beast report, for example, noted the local pizza industry was under some amount of ‘Ndrangheta control. Pizza paddles and wood-fire oven paint were reportedly manufactured by criminal elements.

Reuters said this large wave of arrests was not the end and that more people could be arrested in the near future. Apparently, tracking down this particular organization has been difficult, as individual families within the syndicate are more independent and there are fewer top level leaders.