More than 100 ‘Ndrangheta mafia mobsters and associates’ are arrested in raids across Europe

Police arrested more than 100 suspected gangsters believed to belong to the notorious ‘Ndrangheta mafia in Europe’s early hours this morning.

Under cover of darkness, thousands of police officers in Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Portugal and Spain raided the suspected gangsters’ homes as part of an investigation codenamed “Operation Eureka.”

In Germany, more than 1,000 officers descended on their homes and offices in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in the east, arresting more than 20 suspected criminals in the raids.

And in Italy, 1,400 Carabinieri police officers, aided by helicopters, arrested 108 suspected ‘Ndrangheta gangsters in the grand operation that seized huge piles of cash, drugs and firearms.

The suspects are charged with criminal association with the mafia; possession, production and trafficking of drugs and weapons; criminal tax evasion and money laundering.

Seized money is displayed in an unknown location after an operation by the Carabinieri del Ros and the Provincial Command of Reggio Calabria in Italy on Wednesday

Police arrested more than 100 suspects and raided homes in Italy and Germany on Wednesday. Pictured: Weapons seized during Wednesday’s raid

Italian and Belgian investigators believe that between October 2019 and January 2022, Calabria-based ‘Ndrangheta gangsters smuggled nearly 25 tonnes of cocaine and more than 22 million euros (£19.4 million) from Calabria to Belgium, the Netherlands and South Africa. America have funneled.

The ‘Ndrangheta has now surpassed the Cosa Nostra as the most powerful mafia group in the country and one of the largest criminal networks in the world.

Italy’s Carabinieri police made 108 arrests nationwide in an investigation in the southern city of Reggio Calabria, they said in a statement. Another 15 people were detained on police orders in Genoa’s northwestern port.

In Belgium, police raided more than 20 addresses, prosecutors said, adding they would provide more details at a press conference later this morning.

Meanwhile, in Germany, the main focus of the operation was in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, with about 500 officers in each state. A total of 30 suspects were arrested there who still had outstanding arrest warrants.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, 51 houses, apartments, offices and business premises were searched and 15 suspects were arrested.

In Rhineland-Palatinate, police searched 50 premises and arrested 10 suspects.

The task forces in Rhineland-Palatinate were supported by special units from the federal government and other states, as well as the customs and tax investigation department, the German news agency dpa reported.

Two suspects who were under investigation in the western state of Saarland have been arrested in Italy. Police have not identified them but said one was 47 years old and the other 25.

A man was arrested in Spain’s southern city of Malaga as part of the coordinated investigation, Spanish police said without giving further details.

The suspects are charged with money laundering, criminal tax evasion, fraud and drug smuggling, mafia-type criminal association and possession and trafficking of weapons. In the photo: seized weapons from the raid

European authorities have campaigned in recent years against the Calabria-based ‘ndrangheta, arguably the wealthiest organized crime group in the world. In the photo: confiscated weapons

Police arrested more than 100 suspects and raided homes in Germany and Italy on Wednesday

The state police in Bavaria said the arrests were the result of more than three years of investigation dubbed “Operation Eureka.” Photo: seized money

The ‘Ndrangheta, which has its roots in the southern region of Calabria, the toe of Italy’s boot, has surpassed Cosa Nostra as the country’s most powerful mafia group and one of the largest criminal networks in the world. In the photo: piles of money were seized during the raid

The state police in Bavaria said the arrests were the result of more than three years of investigation dubbed “Operation Eureka.”

Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Michael Ebling called the raids an “effective blow” against organized crime.

“Today sends a very clear signal: there is no place for organized crime in Europe and certainly not here with us in Rhineland-Palatinate,” he said, according to dpa.

The suspects are charged with money laundering, gang tax evasion, commercial gang fraud and narcotics smuggling, according to a statement from Germany’s state criminal investigation office in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The raids are part of a wider joint investigation involving Europol and also include simultaneous action against the group across Europe, the statement said.

In recent years, European authorities have campaigned against ‘Ndrangheta, arguably the wealthiest organized crime group in the world.

The group has spent decades exploiting tens of billions of dollars in cocaine revenue to expand its criminal reach across Europe and several continents as the Sicilian mafia lost influence.