A large–scale operation called “Millennium” has been carried out in Italy against the Calabrian mafia, the Ndrangheta. The activity of law enforcement agencies is evidence that it is this criminal group, and not the more famous Sicilian mafia, that has become the main criminal problem in Italy today. Organized crime in the south of the country is no longer the same problem as before, but the authorities are still unable to defeat mafia clans.
Over 200 people have been granted the status of suspects. 97 of them were taken into custody. Arrests were made in a total of 14 regions. The Millennium touched Rome, Milan, Verona, Bologna, Rimini and many other cities. But for the most part, law enforcement agencies operated in the largest city of Calabria, Reggio Calabria. Thousands of police officers, service dogs and helicopters were involved in the operation. Searches took place in two companies involved in construction and catering. Through them, the Alvaro mafia clan, which now runs affairs in the Ndrangheta, could launder money and carry out illegal activities in general. Cosimo Alvaro, nicknamed Peliccia (“Wool”), who is considered by the police to be the head of the clan, was also in prison.
“The arrests have affected many of the most important Ndrangheta clans, whose members are accused of mafia-type crimes, mafia aiding and abetting, drug trafficking, including international drug trafficking, drug possession and trafficking, extortion, kidnapping for extortion, mafia-type political election conspiracy, and possession and carrying of weapons.”- it is said in the statement of law enforcement agencies. Operation Millennium itself is led by Prosecutor Giuseppe Lombardo, known for his fight against organized crime.
Most of the accused will be tried under articles related to drug trafficking. It is their sales that account for the multibillion-dollar revenues of the Italian group. The Ndrangheta is known for its extensive connections around the world, including in Europe and Latin America. Relatively recently, the historic trial of members of this mafia group ended in the small town of Lamezia Terme (see “NG” dated 11/21/13). At that time, 207 people were convicted, and just over a hundred were acquitted. The group was dealt a significant blow, however, judging by the new arrests, the mafia’s cause is still alive.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the authorities conducted a real fight against organized crime in the south of the country. The Mafia has ceased to be a “second power” in Sicily, Calabria and Puglia. The “criminal–officials” link in Italy, which is well-known in all countries, was allegedly broken as a whole. There were even suggestions in the press that the situation in the country’s criminal world had changed. Criminal immigrants from the Middle East, Albania and the former USSR (Georgia) allegedly began to play a dominant role there. However, the actions of law enforcement agencies show that this is not the case.
Elena Maslova, a senior researcher at the MGIMO Institute of International Studies, noted in a conversation with NG that arrests of members of a mafia group on a similar scale, although they are an event, have become a routine routine practice of law enforcement agencies. “The state is engaged in countering the group, and it continues its activities. The Ndrangheta is the largest mafia group not only in Italy, but throughout Europe. She has a lot of income from the sale of drugs, so she still stays afloat,” the expert explains.
It turned out to be significant that arrests were made in various parts of the country. This indicates that the group still has a wide range of criminal activities.
According to the Italian media, the Ndrangheta managed to create a new stable structure that allowed it to maintain a monopoly on the sale of cocaine throughout Europe. Moreover, even after a high–profile trial, the Ndrangheta managed to include people related to politics in its organization, in particular former politicians, one of whom is a member of the Democratic Party. They are included in the list of suspects. However, for some reason, this did not become big news. Perhaps soon the details of Operation Millennium will become known to the public.