Italy: 82 arrests in “Game over” raid against mafia EDA helps at Rhodes airport with specially set up counter

In Italy, 82 suspected mafiosi have been arrested in a large-scale crackdown on organized crime.

The action, described by the investigators as “Operazione Game over”, targeted members of the società foggiana, the mafia in Foggia and their companies, as the carabinieri announced on Monday. The suspects are charged with drug trafficking, illegal possession of weapons and extortion. Arms and drugs were also seized in the raid on the province of Foggia in Apulia.

The Carabinieri’s investigation revealed that members of three clans of the Foggia Mafia appeared to have reached an agreement to trade drugs worth millions of euros a year. The clans therefore decided to end their rivalry in favor of monopolizing the cocaine trade in the southern Italian region. The proceeds flowed into a “common fund” from which the activities of the clans and families of convicted mafiosi were financed.

According to the carabinieri, the business model of the three clans was based on the “systematic blackmail” of other actors and on an “aggressive and careful control system” of trade. Authorities long ago declared war on the Foggia Mafia: Monday’s operation is now the third blow in seven years – 150 arrests are the result of the effort. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi thanked the emergency services.

(yam/sda/dpa)