(ANSA) - Trapani, December 20 - Eleven people were detained
and three firms were sized Tuesday in an operation coordinated
by the DDA anti-mafia department in Trapani, Sicily, against
alleged members of clans controlled by fugitive Cosa Nostra boss
Matteo Messina Denaro.
According to investigators that led the so-called Ermes 2
operation, Messina Denaro controlled tenders in the area of
Trapani through the seized companies allegedly owned by local
Mafia clans.
The probe revealed close links between the Cosa Nostra clan
of Mazara del Vallo headed by Vito Gondola and the clan of
Castelvetrano, both towns in the province of Trapani, to share
tenders in the area under the direction of Messina Denaro,
police said.
Investigators believe local mafia clans participated in
construction work to build a wind farm in Mazara del Vallo and
in renovation work at a local hospital through the seized
companies.
Messina Denaro, 53, has been on the lam since 1993.
Interpol has said the Cosa Nostra boss is among the 10 most
wanted criminals in the world.
11 detained over alleged mafia links (2)
Control of three firms seized