Dozens Arrested in Italo-Swiss Sting Against 'Maiden Mafia

Dozens Arrested in Italo-Swiss Sting Against 'Maiden Mafia

• Italy's financial crime police say  193 million in assets have been seized after years of intense investigation.

• The Guardia di Finanza says the sting has targeted the Nadrangheta families off the coast of Calbaria.

• Authorities in Italy and Switzerland have arrested 75 people in a joint operation against Italy's Nadrangita mafia.

• The operation is the result of years of intense investigations between Italian and Swiss prosecutors and police.

• The detainees were charged with a number of crimes, including mafia association international drug trafficking, money laundering, false asset registration and corruption.

• Authorities also seized assets worth 169 million euros (193 3193 million) and interrogated them, but did not arrest 83 more suspects, the Guardia de Finanza said.

• Only one person was arrested in Switzerland. According to a separate statement from the Swiss government, several suspicious homes and businesses were searched.

• Police seized weapons and ammunition during raids in Uruguay, Solothurn, Zig and Techno, the Swiss prosecutor's office said.

• Nicola Morera, head of the anti-mafia commission in the Italian parliament, said that if one still thinks that "Nderengita is a purely Italian issue, it is the opposite of the operation."

Calabria

• The Guardia di Finanza said sting members of the Ndrangheta family were targeted on the west coast of Calbaria, between the towns of Lydia Terme and Weibo Valentia.

• Calabria is the poor southern region that forms the tip of the Italian system, the historic home of the world's most powerful organized crime group, Nandrangita.

• Nandrangita has long had branches in Calabria and has gained considerable access in Europe, North America and Australia and is considered a major cocaine smuggler in Europe.