Francesco Aracri , "the godfather of Muenster", an important leader of the 'Ndrangheta arrested in the North Rhine-Westphalian city last June in execution of a European arrest warrant issued by Italy, was released by order of the Hamm prosecutor's office . This is what the newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" reports, adding that, according to Hamm's prosecutor's office, "the Italian authorities have not provided sufficient details on the accusations" against the 'Ndrangheta. In particular, the questions raised by the German judiciary remained "unanswered". Therefore, the detainee was released from custody pending extradition. Aracri, known as Franco, was arrested as part of the operation against Calabrian organized crime organized by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA) of Catanzaro. Taking place in several countries, the action resulted in 41 arrests out of 123 suspects.

'Ndrangheta has the largest presence outside its country of origin. In particular, for German investigators, "the godfather of Muenster" was among the most important exponents of Calabrian organized crime in Germany. With nine other 'Ndrangheta members, Aracri would have formed the "German Crime", a body competent to mediate between the interests of the Calabrian clans in German territory. According to investigators, the 'Ndrangheta does not have such an organization outside Italy in any other European country. According to several witnesses, Aracri would be close to Nicolino Grande Aracri , sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 2019 who had close ties with Germany. In this country since the 1970s, "the godfather of Muenster" would have been one of the most important representatives of the 'Ndrangheta, for which he would have carried out money laundering activities since the 1990s.