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Symbolic picture: Italian Carabinieri were involved in the operation together with other police units and the military
Photo: abile / Getty Images
Led by anti-mafia investigators from Turin, the Italian police took action against a drug trafficking network of the Calabrian mafia.
According to a report by the Repubblica, the 'Ndrangheta gangs were in contact with Baden-Württemberg, in the Lake Constance area.
In addition, the criminals had connections to Spain and Romania.
Several suspects were arrested.
Real estate and vehicles were also confiscated and accounts blocked, it said.
In Turin alone, according to "Repubblica", the assets of five companies associated with the Mafia were confiscated.
Several hundred investigators were involved in the "Platinum" operation, including Carabinieri, the finance police, the military and experts from the Baden-Württemberg criminal police and the Constance public prosecutor.
Romanian and Spanish organized crime investigators were also there.
The clans are accused of international drug trafficking.
The 'Ndrangheta is one of the most powerful Mafia organizations in the world and has long had a foothold in Germany.
It is at home in the Calabria region, the tip of the Italian »boot«.
It dominates the international drug trade, but also earns its money in arms deals, in the construction sector and in other branches of the economy.
ala / dpa