SECRETS of the richest mafia in Italy are about to be revealed, as hundreds of suspected gangsters have to get justice in the biggest mob trial in more than 30 years.
Alleged members of the ‘NDrangheta – including corrupt politicians – will be locked in cages during hearings, due to a large call center in Calabria being converted into a courtroom.
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It will now seat nearly 1,000 lawyers, judges, prosecutors and spectators taking part in the trial, which will expose the inner workings of Italy’s most mysterious mafia – which begins on Wednesday.
Investigators will reveal 24,000 wiretaps and erroneous conversations in support of charges of murder, extortion and drug trafficking.
More than 900 witnesses will testify against 355 suspected members of the Calabrian mafia, which has an estimated turnover of between € 40-50 billion (£ 36-45 billion).
The gang apparently has strong ties to Latin American drug cartels, which use them to import cocaine through ports such as Rotterdam, as well as gangs in Albania and Turkey to transport it to the market.
It comes more than 30 years after the Maxi trial in 1986 in Palermo, which exposed the Sicilian mafia.
Nicola Gratteri, who is leading the prosecution against ‘NDrangheta, said:’ This is the most important trial since Palermo. ‘
In 2019, Mr. Gratteri the arrests of suspected mafia members in Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Bulgaria that led to the latest trial.
A police chief, a former senator, lawyers, councilors and businessmen were among those arrested during an operation involving 2,500 police officers.
Mr Gratteri added: “This is a mafia that looks like us and is getting closer to us.”
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A former senator, a police chief, lawyers, local councilors and businessmen were among those arrested, presumably along with the crowd. “This is a mafia that looks like us and is getting closer and closer to us,” he said. Gratteri (62) said.
The criminal organization ‘Ndrangheta is in the region of Calabria in southern Italy, which is the Cosa Nostra in Sicily, and dates from the 18th century.
These are far-reaching illegal activities that include drug supply, extortion, prostitution and arms trafficking.
It is one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world, and the FBI estimates a membership of Ndrangheta is about 6,000 – mostly in one of Italy’s poorest regions.
The name comes from the Greek “andragathia”, which means courage or loyalty.
The group specializes in cocaine trafficking, and is estimated to control as much as 80 percent of Europe’s cocaine supply.
Police say it has surpassed Cosa Nostra and the Naples-based Camorra in Sicily because of its control over the drug trade.
It is also entrenched in the crime scene in and around Turin in northern Italy.
The trial will focus on mob activity in the province of Vibo Valentia in Calabria.
The area is dominated by one of the most powerful families in the loose confederation of which the ‘NDrangheta, Mancuso consists.
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Mr. Gratteri’s takeover of the clan was aided by Emanuele Mancuso, the son of one of the bosses, who according to the Times revealed the mob secrets after accepting police protection.
Mafia expert Antonio Nisaco said: ‘They are very violent but extremely enterprising with a worldwide network of contacts.
‘A leaf does not move in Vibo Valentia without the words of the Mancusos. ‘