Reggio Calabria politicians held in big 'Ndrangheta bust

(ANSA) - Rome, July 31 - Italian police on Wednesday were arresting several members of the Libri clan of the 'Ndrangheta organized crime group in Reggio Calabria. Seventeen warrants had been issued by the Antimafia Investigation Directorate (DIA), with 12 in jail and 5 placed under house arrest, while searches were underway and several companies seized. Several entrepreneurs and politicians were completely at the service of the Libri clan, according to the investigation. Among those arrested are the head of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) in the Calabria regional assembly, Sebastiano "Seby" Romeo, and that of the rightwing FDI party Alessandro Nicolò .
    The clan is accused of playing a central role in the 2014 regional elections.
    Also under investigation are former PD regional advisor Demetrio Naccari Carlizzi and the son-in-law of Reggio Calabria mayor Giuseppe Falcomatà, who is instead not involved. The police said that the 'Ndrangheta clan had managed to infiltrate the political sphere of the city across all political parties. Following the news, PD senator Ernesto Magorno said that he was suspending himself from the party until it was clear what had happened in Calabria. The Calabria-based crime organization has been called 'Europe's most powerful mafia' and is known for being involved in the international drugs and weapons trade. As part of an international operation in December 2018, arrests were made in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and countries in South America. "Huge amounts of cocaine flooded in from South America to Italy and northern Europe, particularly Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, also thanks to the collaboration of Turkish citizens who hid the drugs in concealed spaces of cars and lorries," police had said at a press conference at that time.