Police in the southern city
of Catanzaro on Thursday arrested eight people and seized some
1.5 million euros in assets in an operation to bust a 20-year
extortion ring on the coast of Calabria.
The arrested people are allegedly members of the Gallelli
and Procopio-Mongiardo clams of the Calabrian mafia, both of
which operate in the Catanzaro area.
The gangs alleged targeted businesses that won public
contracts and the owners of hotels and holiday villages.
The seized assets were properties and shares in companies.
Catanzaro anti-mafia prosecutor Giovanni Bombardieri
praised the courage of a entrepreneur who reported the
extortion.
"Today's operation stems entirely from the statements made
by a businessman who had been tormented for 20 years and found
the courage to report the tyranny he was subjected to, thanks in
part to the results of investigations in the area recently,"
Bombardieri said.
In one case, the businessman was forced to hand over 3% of
a 500,000-euro public contract to the mobsters, investigators
said.
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