On Thursday 33 people were arrested as part of a massive anti-drugs operation conducted by investigators in the southern Italian region of Reggio Calabria, the Colombian police and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The operation, in which 11 tonnes of cocaine with a street value of three billion euros was seized, is linked to a probe that identified a dangerous international narcotics-trafficking organisation.
Franco and Giuseppe Cosimo Monteleone, suspected members of the 'ndrine della Locride clan of the Calabrian-based 'Ndrangheta mafia, were allegedly at the helm of this drugs ring.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
