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 probe confirmed "organic links" between Colombian
narco-traffickers and the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta mafia,
which controls the world's cocaine trade.
Investigators discovered that drug mules were carrying
inside their bodies ovules packed with 500-euro notes.
They also found that various terrorist groups often
guarded the cocaine supplies.
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 'Ndrangheta mafia, were
allegedly at the helm of this drugs ring.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA