Italian mafia raids resulted in numerous arrests

The Italian ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate is thought to be responsible for much of the flow of cocaine into Europe. Police arrested upwards of 130 people in raids across several European countries on Wednesday as part of a three-year investigation into the Italian ‘Ndrangheta organized crime group. The detained suspects are accused of a litany of crimes, including money laundering, drug smuggling and weapons trafficking. The criminal gang used Chinese money brokers in Italy and Colombia to transfer funds to pay for drug deals, and was involved in gun-running between Pakistan and South America. 108 people were arrested in Italy and other EU countries on the orders of Italian police, 24 in Germany and 13 in Belgium, with Spain and Portugal each arresting a suspect. The German raids involved more than 1,000 police officers searching dozens of locations across various cities.