By Gaia Pianigiani
The police in Italy on Tuesday arrested more than 300 people, including at least some government officials, and seized millions of dollars in property across the country in what the authorities called one of the most extensive law-enforcement operations against the crime syndicate known as ’Ndrangheta.
The organization is mainly based in the southern region of Calabria. The man believed to be organization’s top boss, Domenico Oppedisano, 80, was arrested in a predawn raid there.
About 160 people were also arrested in the northern region of Lombardy, among them one of the group’s accused leaders in Milan, Pino Neri. In Lombardy, the ’Ndrangheta is believed to have infiltrated commercial activities, politics and the local administration, said a statement released from the Ministry of the Interior.
‘‘This is one of the most important operations against the ’Ndrangheta in recent years,’’ Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said in a statement. Mr. Maroni also said the sweep struck at the heart of the ’Ndrangheta in terms of its organization and of its finances. The charges against those arrested include criminal association, murder, extortion, arms and drug trafficking and other grave crimes.
Like Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian-based syndicate, ’Ndrangheta has extended its reach far beyond Italy’s borders. The Italian police say that they have found connections between the ’Ndrangheta cell based in Siderno, Calabria, and mobsters based in Australia and Canada but that arrests have not been carried out yet for technical reasons. Francesco Forgione, president of the Antimafia Commission of Parliament from 2006 to 2008 and author of the book ‘‘Mafia Export,’’ said the group was ‘‘capable of penetrating anywhere, from Europe to the U.S., from Canada to Australia.
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