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Some 200 arrested in anti-mafia operation in Italy, Germany: police

Some 200 arrested in anti-mafia operation in Italy, Germany: police

By REUTERS

ROME: Some 200 members of one of Italy’s most infamous mafia groups were arrested in an operation in Italy and Germany, police said on Tuesday. A statement from the para-military Carabinieri police said the operation had dismantled a major clan of the ‘Ndrangheta organized crime group, which is based in the southern Calabria region. Police said the operation was carried out jointly with police in Germany. They said the clans of the Farao and Marincola families had infiltrated businesses in both countries, particularly those involved in wine, food, garbage collection and funeral services. A number of public officials were suspected of corruption, the statement said, without specifying if they were in Italy or both countries. Some 50 million euros ($59.79 million) in assets was seized. Details of the operation were due to be released at a news conference later on Tuesday in the southern city of Catanzaro, where anti-mafia prosecutors had spearheaded the investigation.