Police launched a string of anti-mafia raids on Wednesday, targeting the notorious criminal franchise in Italy, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, according to authorities.
The operation was coordinated by Eurojust, Europe’s cross-border crime fighting agency, and resulted in drugs and cash being seized, in addition to the arrest of around 90 suspected mafia members and their associates.
READ MORE: Sicilian Mobsters Dropped Weights on Drug-Addicts for Insurance Payouts – Police
European law enforcement agencies jointly launched Operation Pollino in 2016, looking to put a dent in the ‘Ndrangheta’s criminal operations.
The homes of high-ranking mobsters were also targeted, with police successfully recovering millions of euros in laundered money.
The ‘Ndrangheta mafia are considered to be one of the most powerful organized crime syndicates in Italy, involved in drugs and firearms trafficking, prostitution, racketeering and shark loaning.
Federico Cafiero De Raho, Italy's chief anti-mafia prosecutor, hailed the "extraordinary nature of this operation,” but warned that the organization is “extremely powerful and extremely rich”, so they are far from defeated.
The raids follow Tuesday’s operation against the Sicilian Mafia in Palermo, which resulted in the capture of the syndicate’s newly elected leader, 80-year-old jeweller Settimo Mineo, in addition to 45 other suspects.
READ MORE: Italian Police Arrest 'Godfather' of Sicilian Mafia in Major Operation
