Italian police have made extensive raids against the mafia and drug smugglers / day

One of the police surgery was against 97 suspects accused of smuggling drugs from South America through Italian Joye Tauro Port, receiving assistance from the port staff. Suspects Ndrangheta members have also been accused of extortion, abduction, manipulation of elections and weapons smuggling.

The raids were made in Milan, Rome, Bologna and elsewhere.

At the same time, Italian and Albanian investigators performed a separate operation that was against large -scale cocaine and heroin smuggling, as well as money laundering and abuse of service.

According to the authorities, the investigation has revealed evidence of drug and cash flows of more than EUR 4.5 million. The operation was against 52 suspects, including two police officers and a lawyer, the Albanian prosecutor’s office said.

Police seized assets of several million euros in Albania and Italy, including real estate, television station and four restaurants.

The operation was led by the Italian Police Department specializing in the fight against mafia and terrorism, in cooperation with the European Union (EU) Agency for Cooperation in Criminal Makes (« Eurojust »). The EU police agency « Europol » also participated in the operation.