Seven suspects with links to the Gambino crime family were arrested in New York City overnight in a joint U.S.-Italian anti-Mafia blitz targeting a trans-Atlantic cocaine trafficking route, officials say.
Italian and U.S. authorities said the "New Bridge" operation targeted the new drug-running route from South America to the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro that united the U.S. branch of the Sicilian Mafia with the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate.
An undercover agent who befriended one of the suspects arrested in New York City is at the center of the operation, U.S. prosecutors tell NBC News. The agent later gained trust of both the Gambino family and 'Ndrangheta.
'Ndrangheta's reach extends to countries across Europe and the globe and Italian authorities consider it one of the most powerful and dangerous crime syndicates in the world.
Undercover agents in both countries prevented the delivery to Italy of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine hidden in shipments of coconuts and pineapples during the two-year investigation, officials said.
They also confiscated cash, heroin and marijuana.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Italy-New-York-Mafia-Gambino-Bust-244854771.html