International Organised Crime
According to the Carabinieri, their investigations focused on money laundering, drug trafficking, illegal gambling, and other crimes.
It is believed that members of the ‘Ndrangheta moved to Spain and became involved in extortion and racketeering to the detriment of local businesses.
According to a recent report by Italy’s Direzione Investigativa Antimafia (DIA), the anti-drug unit, Gioia Tauro, a port in the southwest region of Calabria, which is controlled by the ‘Ndrangheta, was the entrance point of 97 percent of the nearly 14 tons of cocaine entering Italy via the Mediterranean sea last year.
Although the AFP acknowledges that dismantling the criminal organization remains a difficult task, the intelligence obtained through the ANoM sting was helping to lift the cover of secrecy that has allowed members of the ‘Ndrangheta to operate in Australia with impunity.
‘Ndrangheta boss Vittorio Raso was arrested in Spain on Tuesday June 21, after presenting fake identification documents during a routine traffic stop in Castelldefels in Catalonia.