Italian police on Tuesday said 29 people had been arrested in provinces across Italy, as well as the German state of Baden-Württemberg where a police sergeant was among those detained.
The operation against the ‘ndrangheta — widely seen as the most powerful Mafia group that is currently active — exposed a gourmet food fencing and racketeering scam.
What are German and Italian police investigating?
The public prosecutor’s office and police in the Stuttgart suburb of Waiblingen said the member of the Baden-Württemberg state police had supported the ‘ndrangheta.
The arrest warrant against the 46-year-old was issued for breach of confidentiality.
His arrest came amid sweeping raids on Tuesday morning by German and Italian police officers against organized crime groups, with at least 29 people detained.
A total of 34 arrest warrants — 14 in German and 20 in Italy — and 40 search warrants were executed.
In addition to Baden-Württemberg, officials said investigations were underway in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.
According to Chief Public Prosecutor Dittrich, 19 main suspects in Germany are said to have posed — on behalf of the ‘ndrangheta — as managers of German food companies to businesses in Hungary and Italy.
They ordered large quantities of high-quality food, including cheese, olive oil, and canned tomatoes. In reality, the German firms that made the orders did not exist.
The goods, valued at several hundred thousand euros, were sent to an alleged warehouse in the town of Fellbach, where they were accepted by the accused but not paid for. The accused then pushed the food onto local restaurateurs, who paid for the goods out of fear of retribution.
Edited by Sean Sinico
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