Crime down, arrests up, says Maroni
'Huge strides' in war against mafia since govt in office
04 November, 18:14
(ANSA) - Rome, November 4 - Street crimes are down, mafia
arrests are up and seizures of goods owned by organized crime
have tripled since the government took office 18 months ago,
Interior Minister Roberto Maroni announced Wednesday.
Delivering a report on the state of public safety in Italy, Maroni said police had confiscated over 5.37 billion euros from the mafia this year, a threefold increase on 2007.
Over 700 million euros of that money is earmarked for the war against organized crime, Maroni added, and will become available next year.
''These are extraordinary measures without precedent,'' said Maroni, commending the government on ''an extraordinarily succesful campaign against the mafia.'' According to the interior minister, police have arrested an average of eight gangsters a day since Premier Silvio Berlusconi came to office in April 2008.
This weekend, police in Naples nabbed Camorra strongmen Pasquale and Salvatore Russo, both considered among the 30 most dangerous mobsters in Italy.
Police say the Russo brothers, wanted for murder since 1995, controlled the drug trade around the town of Nola near Naples.
Maroni also defended Italy's push-back immigration policy, a bilateral agreement with Libya allowing migrants intercepted in international waters to be forcibly escorted back to North Africa.
Though the arrangement has drawn widespread criticism from human rights groups, the Catholic Church and the United Nations Human Rights Commission, Maroni said the policy provided a strong deterrent to illegal immigration.
''Since the policy came into force last May, the number of immigrants landing in Italy has fallen by 92%'', Maroni said.
He added that Italian coastal authorities have ''pushed back'' less than 1,000 immigrants so far, evidence that the law discourages them from coming to Italy in the first place.
Italy saw 18,000 immigrants arrive on its shores in 2007, compared to 1,800 by September this year, the interior minister said.
Maroni also reiterated Italy's request for more help in contrasting illegal immigration from the European Union and the United Nations.
The Italian government has said it will press the European Commission to devise a common strategy on immigration to relieve the pressure on ''front line'' countries in the Mediterranean.
Delivering a report on the state of public safety in Italy, Maroni said police had confiscated over 5.37 billion euros from the mafia this year, a threefold increase on 2007.
Over 700 million euros of that money is earmarked for the war against organized crime, Maroni added, and will become available next year.
''These are extraordinary measures without precedent,'' said Maroni, commending the government on ''an extraordinarily succesful campaign against the mafia.'' According to the interior minister, police have arrested an average of eight gangsters a day since Premier Silvio Berlusconi came to office in April 2008.
This weekend, police in Naples nabbed Camorra strongmen Pasquale and Salvatore Russo, both considered among the 30 most dangerous mobsters in Italy.
Police say the Russo brothers, wanted for murder since 1995, controlled the drug trade around the town of Nola near Naples.
Maroni also defended Italy's push-back immigration policy, a bilateral agreement with Libya allowing migrants intercepted in international waters to be forcibly escorted back to North Africa.
Though the arrangement has drawn widespread criticism from human rights groups, the Catholic Church and the United Nations Human Rights Commission, Maroni said the policy provided a strong deterrent to illegal immigration.
''Since the policy came into force last May, the number of immigrants landing in Italy has fallen by 92%'', Maroni said.
He added that Italian coastal authorities have ''pushed back'' less than 1,000 immigrants so far, evidence that the law discourages them from coming to Italy in the first place.
Italy saw 18,000 immigrants arrive on its shores in 2007, compared to 1,800 by September this year, the interior minister said.
Maroni also reiterated Italy's request for more help in contrasting illegal immigration from the European Union and the United Nations.
The Italian government has said it will press the European Commission to devise a common strategy on immigration to relieve the pressure on ''front line'' countries in the Mediterranean.
