Italian police on Monday arrested 15 people in connection with extortion by the 'Ndrangheta Calabria-based mafia in Lombardy, Marche and Calabria, judicial sources said.
Police said Vincenzo Facchineri, a member of a historic 'ndrina (branch) in Reggio Calabria, had set up a solid network in Brescia and had penetrated the province's economic fabric through loan sharking, threats and violence.
He had previously worked with the historic Rome crime group the Magliana gang and the Veneto crime outfit the Mala di Brenta, police said.
Separately, 16 suspected members of the Neapolitan Camorra were placed under investigation Monday for suspected extortion and drug trafficking.
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