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Italian officials and policemen during a press conference in Milan. Italian Police said they had made more than 300 arrests and confiscated tens of millions of euros of assets in their largest operation in 15 years against Italy's most powerful mafia. (Cacace/Getty Images)
The Ndrangheta, Italy's most powerful mafia, saw Italian police make sweeping arrests from its ranks, bringing in 300 suspected mobsters, including the 80-year-old man being called the mob’s godfather.
The men, all allegedly belonging to the Ndrangheta, were arrested on suspicion of murder, money laundering, extortion, arms and drug trafficking, and other crimes.
The Ndrangheta, also known as the Calabrian mafia, have a “complex criminal organization, governed by a true dome, with a centralized, pyramidal command structure,” in some ways resembling Sicilian mafia Cosa Nostra, according to the Italian anti-mafia bureau.
The alleged godfather of the organization, Domenico Oppedisano, was appointed as head of the criminal syndicate during a wedding in August 2009, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
The police sweep, involving about 3,000 officers, is the biggest sting operation against the mobs in recent times, police officials reported. The operation also involved arrests in the United States.
Police also seized tens of millions of dollars of the mafia’s assets. The Ndrangheta is believed to be the main broker for international cocaine traffic coming from South America.
Eurispes, a leading Italian non-profit think tank, has estimated the Ndrangheta’s turnover from its criminal activities at $55 billion.
