Italy arrests 300 in crackdown on crime organization

Italian police launched one of their biggest operations ever against the powerful 'ndrangheta crime syndicate on Tuesday, arresting 300 people including top bosses and seizing millions worth of property in pre-dawn raids. The man believed to be the 'ndrangheta's top boss, Domenico Oppedisano, was picked up in Rosarno, a small coastal town in Calabria, the southern region where the organization is based, police said. Also arrested was the man in charge of the gang's businesses in Milan, where the 'ndrangheta has been making major inroads.

The raids Tuesday involved some 3,000 police across the country. Those arrested faced charges including murder, extortion, arms and drug trafficking and criminal association. Investigators described the operation as one of the biggest blows ever to an organization that is now considered more powerful than the Sicilian Mafia. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the sweep struck at the heart of the 'ndrangheta in both its organization and its finances. The sweep dismantled some of the most powerful families in the organization, Italian news agencies said. It also enabled investigators to shed light on the 'ndrangheta's structure and power hierarchy. The biggest operation was in the Milan region of Lombardy, where 160 people were reportedly arrested. They included businessmen and the director of state medical services in the city of Pavia.