Italian authorities detain nearly 140 suspected mafia members

MADRID, 13 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Italian authorities have arrested more than 130 people suspected of belonging to the 'Ndrangheta, one of the main mafia organizations in Italy and Europe, as shared in a press release by the Italian Guardia di Finanza on Tuesday.

The arrest was made through two operations carried out on Italian territory. On the peninsula, 65 people were detained in the southern region of Calabria and 13 in the city of Brescia, during the operation dubbed 'Blue Notte' (Blue night).

The Italian Prosecutor's Office accuses the detainees of mafia association, drug trafficking, money laundering and extortion. Most of them are in prison, while the rest remain under house arrest or under investigation.

The second operation against the criminal organization took place on the island of Sicily, resulting in 60 detainees, of whom 48 have been sent to prison and remain accused of drug trafficking between the regions of Calabria and Sicily.

Italian police sources say that the operations carried out have revealed more about the internal workings of the 'Ndrangheta criminal group, specifically the Belloco clan, whose members have been involved in drug and arms trafficking for several generations.

After the death of the head of the family in October, the patriarch Bellocco Umberto, alias 'Assi i Mazzi', his namesake grandson, alias 'Chiacchera', replaced him in command. The clan is located in the municipality of Rosarno, close to the port of Giogia Tauro, considered an important point for international drug trafficking.