About 500 police officers, backed by dog units, a helicopter and coastal patrol boats are involved.

 

A police operation was also launched in the southern Calabria region, a hotbed of 'Ndrangheta Mafia crime.

 

The Rome crackdown, focused on the coastal suburb of Ostia, is said to be the largest yet in or near the capital. Three crime clans³ are being targeted.

 

Italy's Corriere della Sera says a "mortal blow" has been delivered to the Fasciani, Triassi and D'Agati clans, who have dominated organised crime for years in that region. 

 

The Triassi clan² is reported to have close ties to the Sicilian Cosa Nostra crime network. 

 

Police had been able to monitor the mafiosi not only as they met to settle disputes and divide up territory, but also as they planned murders, Italian media report.

 

The operation in the south led to 65 arrests, including doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs, Italy's Ansa news agency reports.

 

Last October Italy's central government sacked the entire council of Reggio Calabria, the biggest city in Calabria province.

 

The tightly-knit 'Ndrangheta operates across Europe and has connections with Colombian drug cartels. It is seen as more powerful than the Sicilian Mafia.

点击收听单词发音