Police on Tuesday staged a huge
operation to arrest 181 suspected Cosa Nostra members in
relation to a probe by investigators in Palermo into the Mafia
syndicate's attempt to rebuild in the area of the Sicilian
capital after a series of clampdowns over recent years landed
thousands of people in jail.
Among other things, the investigation revealed that jailed Mafia
bosses have been able to continue to coordinate criminal
activities, including drug trafficking and meetings of mobsters,
from prison thanks to micro-SIM cards and encrypted mobile
phones illegally smuggled into their cells.
Police said the mafiosi had been aiming to rebuild the cupola or
central organising council led by a new boss of bosses, like
late notorious leaders such as Totò 'The Beast' Riina and
Bernardo 'The Tractor' Provenzano.
Prosecutors also said that a detained boss had been able to view
the brutal beating of a subordinate via video link on a
smartphone.
The prosecutors also said that jailed and outside bosses had
been tipped off about police raids by a network of informants.
They said that Cosa Nostra had been able to regain past wealth
thanks to boosting its drug trafficking and distribution
operations.
"The bosses on the outside were afraid of criminal probes and
were ready to fly the coop," said Palermo Chief Prosecutor
Maurizio de Lucia.
He also said that clans were buying weapons on the Dark Web and
that entire districts of the Sicilian capital had been subjected
to protection rackets, like in the past.
"The investigations that led to today's arrests demonstrate that
Cosa Nostra is alive and present and communicates with
completely new communication channels, does business and tries
to reconstitute its army", de Lucia told a press conference in
which magistrates and carabinieri illustrated the details of the
anti-mafia blitz.
"The operation follows other interventions that confirm the
vitality of the mafia, but also the ability of the State to
react, which continues to work despite the lack of men; the
Prosecutor's Office is short 13 substitutes and one additional",
he added.
De Lucia thanked the additional prosecutor Marzia Sabella who
coordinated the investigation.
Premier Giorgia Meloni said on social media:
"An extraordinary operation by the Carabinieri of the Palermo
provincial command led today to the arrest of over 180 people,
including several bosses, inflicting a very hard blow to Cosa
Nostra.
"A result that confirms the State's incessant commitment to the
fight against organized crime".
She added:
"The wiretaps say it clearly: 'Italy has become uncomfortable
for us, I have to leave,' admitted one of those arrested. A
clear signal: organized crime is in a tight spot, the fight
against the mafia has not stopped and will not stop.
"(I say) thanks to the Carabinieri of the Investigative Unit and
to all the Police Forces who defend the legality and safety of
citizens every day.
"The mafia must be defeated with determination and without any
compromise.
"The State is here and will not back down."
National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor Giovanni Melillo said that the
Palermo probe has shown the extreme weakness of the
high-security penitentiary system which is subjected to the
control of criminal organizations.
"Alarming data emerged from this extraordinary investigations by
the State Attorney's Office in Palermo: the extreme weakness of
the high-security penitentiary circuit which should contain the
danger posed by Mafia members subjected to the 41 bis" system,
said Melillo.
The prison regime provides for near-total isolation reserved for
mafia bosses and other offenders deemed to be highly dangerous.
"The investigation in Palermo clearly shows, confirming what has
emerged from other investigative contexts, that the
high-security system is subjected to the dominance of crime",
Melillo told a press conference.
"It is a delicate theme that must open deep reflection", he
added.
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