A 67-year-old man from Upper Austria is said to have created a fruit and vegetable marketing network thanks to the ‘Ndrangheta. Investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Station carried out a search on the farmer this Tuesday morning. He’s on the run.
According to Europol, 43 people were arrested on Tuesday in major anti-mafia raids in Italy, Germany and Austria against the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta. They are accused of fraud, money laundering, extortion and murder, among other things, authorities said. According to Italian authorities, a man from Upper Austria was also targeted by investigators. However, he is on the run, according to a spokeswoman for the Steyr public prosecutor’s office.
He is a 67-year-old man from Upper Austria. Thanks to the ‘Ndrangheta, he would have created a fruit and vegetable marketing network. Investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Station carried out a search on the farmer this Tuesday morning. A spokeswoman for the public prosecutor of Steyr confirmed in the afternoon that the operation was carried out on the basis of a request for legal assistance from the Italian authorities. “There are no investigations in Austria against the man,” said the public prosecutor. According to the Public Ministry, the man was not arrested during the operation.
Some local politicians were also involved in the investigation, including the former president of the Calabria region, Mario Oliverio. According to the head of the Carabinieri, Pasquale Angelosanto, the clans also had interests in Austria and Germany, mainly in gastronomy and trade.
Around 1000 officers in three countries on duty
A total of 43 people were arrested in the operations. Another 100 suspects are under investigation. According to Europol, around 1,000 officers were deployed in the three countries. According to the European police authority, 16 companies, 25 properties and 15 vehicles worth more than five million euros were seized during the transnational action.
Furthermore, prosecutors found that the ‘Ndrangheta clan, with the support of German hackers, managed to carry out fraudulent banking and financial transactions by trading through secret platforms. Blocked bank accounts abroad can be emptied by hackers.
26 members of a clan in Palermo were arrested. At the head of the criminal organization was a boss imprisoned in Palermo, who coordinated the organization’s illegal business from the penitentiary. The clan is accused of drug trafficking, among other things. 220 police officers took part in the operation on Tuesday. Several house searches were carried out.
3,051 kilos of hashish and 374 kilos of cocaine
Meanwhile, the Monza Carabinieri dismantled a criminal organization specializing in international drug and arms trafficking and money laundering. 30 people, 26 Italian nationals and four Moroccans, were arrested in various Italian cities such as Milan, Trieste and Udine.
The drug came from South America, mainly from Ecuador and Spain, and ended up hidden in containers in the port of Gioia Tauro, in southern Italy. The criminal organization had its base in Milan, where one of the main suspects was in charge of maintaining all the necessary connections to carry out drug trafficking, in addition to maintaining contact with accomplices in southern Italy, essential for the transport of drugs from harbor.
The investigations led to the reconstruction of numerous drug dealings with the sale of a total of 3,051 kilos of hashish and 374 kilos of cocaine. (APA)