Police said on Friday they had arrested scores of people in Italy and elsewhere in Europe in a crackdown on a crime syndicate, days after a local politician was fatally shot at a polling station in a killing blamed on the group.
A total of 61 people were arrested in separate operations over two days, according to police in the southern Calabria region, where the 'ndrangheta crime syndicate is based.
The arrests were not linked to Sunday's killing of center-left politician Francesco Fortugno, but authorities billed them as the state's response to the crime.
Fortugno, a center-left politician, was shot and killed as he voted in a nationwide primary in the small Calabrian town of Locri. No arrests had been made in connection with his death.
The government was planning a series of anti-crime initiatives to combat the syndicate, including increased police presence in the region and additional surveillance of suspects, Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said.
Police said they arrested 42 people in Italy, Spain, France Belgium, the Netherlands, and Serbia-Montenegro.
It was not immediately clear how many were arrested in Italy. All the suspects were held for alleged drug-trafficking -- believed to be one of 'ndrangheta's main activities.
Those arrested included around 15 from Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile, and 10 come from Serbia-Montenegro, police said. The others were Italians, mostly from Calabria, on the southeastern tip of the Italian mainland.
The group was believed to have smuggled cocaine from several Latin American countries through Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, Giardina said. He said searches turned up 50kg of cocaine and several guns.
Also on Friday, three people were arrested in the Calabria region for their alleged role in the 2004 murder of 'ndrangheta boss Antonio Dragone, police said. The operation was also aimed at cracking down on extortion.
Authorities say the 'ndrangheta is becoming more powerful in Italy than the Sicilian Mafia.
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 earthquakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said yesterday. There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a magnitude 5.1 quake that struck overnight, said Toshima Mayor Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. However, the almost nonstop jolts since June 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 had evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another
CEREMONY EXPECTED: Abdullah Ocalan said he believes in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons, and called on the group to put that into practice The jailed leader of a Kurdish militant group yesterday renewed a call for his fighters to lay down their arms, days before a symbolic disarmament ceremony is expected to take place as a first concrete step in a peace process with the Turkish state. In a seven-minute video message broadcast on pro-Kurdish Medya Haber’s YouTube channel, Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said that the peace initiative had reached a stage that required practical steps. “It should be considered natural for you to publicly ensure the disarmament of the relevant groups in a way that addresses the expectations
RSS