In eight European countries, including Slovenia, mobs carried out a large-scale operation against the Italian ‘Ndrangheta mafia. A total of 150 investigations were carried out, 132 people were detained, most of them in Italy, but many also in Germany.
At least 2,770 police officers participated in the raids, according to Europol and competent authorities in several countries.
Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Romania and Slovenia took part in the operation, Europol announced, which also mentions the participation of Brazil and Panama. In Slovenia, according to the message, the investigating judge and the prosecutor’s office in Nova Gorica, as well as the police and the administration of the criminal police, participated.
The raids have already been reported by individual European countries, including Germany, where the prosecutor’s offices of the federal states of Bavaria, Posarje, Rhineland-Northern Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate have published a statement about it. Around 100 buildings were searched in Germany, including private houses, apartments, offices and other commercial buildings. About 30 arrest warrants were executed.
The largest operation against the ‘Ndrangheta to date
At the same time, raids were carried out by authorities in other countries as part of a joint operation coordinated by Europol and Eurojust at the request of the authorities in Italy, Germany and Belgium.
The operation was also reported by the prosecutor’s office in Brussels, from where they announced that 25 raids were carried out in Belgium, 13 people were arrested. “Without a doubt, this is the biggest operation against the Calabrian mafia in Europe so far,” said a spokesman for the Belgian prosecutor’s office at a press conference Eric Van Duyse.
According to him, 1,400 police officers took part in the operation in Italy, and 1,000 in Germany. The investigations are said to be based on a warrant issued by a Belgian judge who has been investigating the cases since 2018.
The ‘Ndrangheta, based in Calabria in southern Italy, is considered one of the largest and most influential criminal organizations in Europe. Those detained today are accused of money laundering, tax evasion, fraud and drug smuggling, among other things.
“There is no place for organized crime”
According to Europol, the group was mainly involved in the international drug trade from South America to Europe, as well as to Australia. As they found out, the mafia group cooperated with a Colombian criminal organization and an Albanian group operating in Ecuador and several European countries.
The ‘Ndrangheta clans were also involved in the international arms trade from Pakistan to South America, according to the latest findings. The weapons were allegedly provided in exchange for shipments of cocaine. Investigators followed the flow of money in a vast global money-laundering system, in which huge investments were made in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.
The criminal group invested its profits in real estate, restaurants, hotels, car washes, supermarkets and other commercial activities, according to Europol.
Interior Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate Michael Ebling described today’s operation as an “effective blow” to the mafia. “Today a clear signal was sent that there is no place for organized crime in Europe,” he announced.
Source: Rtvslo
