'Ndrangheta cocaine trafficking ring smashed
21 mobsters arrested in Milan, Rome and Catanzaro


(ANSA) - Milan, May 23 - The Milan branch of the Italian DDA anti-mafia unit has targeted drug trafficking activities by a branch of the organized crime group 'Ndrangheta, originally from the southern Calabria region.
An operation was begun by the Carabinieri in the early morning hours of Tuesday to arrest 21 individuals on charges of criminal association for drug trafficking, with the aggravating circumstance of using mafia-type methods. The arrests have taken place in the Milan, Monza and Brianza, Perugia, Alessandria, Catanzaro, Rome, Varese and Vercelli provinces.
Measures have also been carried out in Germany. The investigation began after the Bareggio arrest in flagrante delicto in September 2015 of one of those under investigation, who was found in possession of 30 kilograms of cocaine. The soldiers discovered the existence of an association based in Arluno, near Milan, and connected with the 'Ndrangheta family Gallace, which holds sway over Guardavalle near Catanzaro and which has branches both in Lombardy and in the Lazio towns of Anzio and Nettuno. The mafia-type criminal organization, the latest in a long string of similar ones to make their appearance in the Milan area, allegedly controlled immense trafficking of cocaine and imports of the illegal substance from South America.

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