By Gangsters Inc. Editors
Police in Italy today arrested 18 individuals with ties to the ‘Ndrangheta on charges of tax fraud. Around three hundred agents raided properties in Lombardy, Piedmont, Lazio, Val d'Aosta and Calabria, seizing €32 million in assets. The tax fraud amounted to over €160 million, police told Italian news agency ANSA.
The Calabrian Mafia, known as ‘Ndrangheta, has been investing its drug money in the north of Italy, in cities like Turin, Milan, and even the country’s capital Rome. One of Rome’s most beautiful estates, the Grand Hotel Gianicolo, a former monastery which was turned into a four-star hotel for the Catholic Church's Jubilee in 2000, was seized from Calabrian businessmen linked to the 'Ndrangheta.
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Not satisfied with just dabbling in real estate, the ‘Ndrangheta went one step further: corrupting local politicians by selling them votes in return for favors. Several regional councils were taken down due to infiltration by the Calabrian Mafia.
After setting up several lucrative drug pipelines between South America and Europe, the ‘Ndrangheta has seen its fortunes rise. It has now become more powerful than Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia, which remains reeling from a law enforcement crackdown stemming from its war against the state.
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