Investigators roll up mafia-style organisation in Italy and Germany

An extensive five-year investigation into an ‘Ndrangheta mafia-style organisation active in Germany and Italy has led to the arrest of 29 suspects during a joint operation by Italian and German authorities, supported by Eurojust. The mafia-style group was responsible for a number of crimes in the Stuttgart area, and Calabria and Emilia-Romagna, including fraudulent trade in food products, attempted manslaughter, drug trafficking, tax evasion and money laundering. The joint operation was coordinated from the Eurojust premises in The Hague. Authorities worked together to carry out around 40 searches in Germany and Italy. Ten of the suspects were arrested in Germany and 19 in Italy. Among those arrested in Germany is a police officer, who is suspected of supporting the criminal organisation. During the joint actions in both countries, carried out today, over 350 law enforcement officers were deployed. German officers were involved in the operations on the ground in Italy and vice versa. To carry out the investigation, a joint investigation team (JIT) was set up via Eurojust, which assisted the rapid and efficient collaboration between the authorities involved. The authorities worked together to investigate a number of crimes linked to the ‘Ndrangheta-related organisation, agreeing on a coordinated prosecution strategy. The organised crime group (OCG) is suspected to have carried out several crimes throughout Italy and Germany, but mostly around the Stuttgart area. The crimes...