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  • 7/25/2019 SUBBING Mafia B

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    POLICERAID

    HOMES

    Cosa NostraAlso known asthe Sicilian Mafia,a group of familiesand clans whooperate with similarstructure, methods,and interests.

    CamorraOne of the oldest andlargest criminalorganisations in Italy,

    unlike the MafiasGodfather structure,the Camorra clans actindependently.

    Sacra CoronaUnitaSet up in the 1970s,it specialises insmuggling, chargingcriminal groupslanding rights tothe Apulian coast.

    WORDS:JoeBarnes

    PICS:PAPhotos,Corbis,R

    exShutterstock,G

    ettyImages

    MARIO

    RICCIO

    BERNARDOPROVENZANO

    FRANCESCO

    CAMPANA

    35WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ZOOMAGAZINE

    regular basis and much of thiscan be attributed to Europesnew drug-traffickingsuperpower: the Ndrangheta.

    The groups membersstarted to use their emerging

    influence to do business withlocal public officials, obtainingcontracts in exchange fordelivering votes for politicalcampaigns. It was alleged thatthe government of Milansformer Mayor, Letizia Moratti,was heavily infiltrated by thecriminal organisation, despiteher publicly denying it on morethan one occasion.

    However, it was laterdiscovered their politicalconnections had allowed

    them to muscle in on high-profile contracts such ashigh-speed railways and theMilan-Venice highway.

    The peakAs the gangs illicit profitsreached its highest level, with20bn coming from illegalrubbish disposal alone andanother 24bn from drug

    trafficking, the authoritiesdecided to step in andlaunched a nationalAnti-Mafia taskforceto bring down theNdrangheta. However,

    the group carried onusing financial donationsto convince corruptpoliticians to cover forthem. By 2014 its globalincome was 53bn.

    The cops move inAt the height of its success,cracks started to appearbetween different factionsof the group. One shockingmoment in 2007 brought

    them under the internationalspotlight.Six Italian men, thought to

    be part of rival Ndranghetaclans, were massacred inGermany while leaving abirthday party. This led tothe Italian officials launchinga crackdown on Ndranghetaoperations.

    In 2011, a suspected boss,Francesco Maisano, was

    arrested for the firsttime, being flanked by Italianparamilitary leaving his housein Calabria. Hidden in a secretbunker, he was found after anextensive search of his

    property. Eventually, morethan 300 gang members werearrested across the world.

    BustedIn July 2015, enough evidencehad been collected on the gang,and even US undercoverofficers were sent in to infiltratethe transatlantic business ofthe mob. Italian police issued41 more arrest warrants andseized 1,500 betting shops, 82gambling websites, 45 Italian

    companies and another 11businesses on foreign soilworth close to 1.5bn.

    While it was found thecompanies were most likelynot profitable, they were usedby the gang to recycle a hugeamount of dirty money whichthey reinvested in legitimateenterprise. And although the

    1.5bn is a small dent in theNdranghetas business, it hasproven a massive boost for theAnti-Mafia taskforce.