Mafia Crackdown
Italian Police Begin Mass Arrests in Wake of German Murders
Italian police on Thursday began arresting scores of mafia suspects tied to a hit job in Germany in August that saw six men gunned down in Duisburg. Arrest warrants have been issued for 40 men, including the brothers of two victims.
Two weeks after a mass mafia killing spree in the German city of Duisburg, police and Carabinieri in southern Italy have begun carrying out 40 arrest warrants for members of the 'Ndrangheta organized crime network. The suspects include two brothers of the Duisburg victims.
Italy's federal prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for dozens in the investigation, including members of two duelling clans within the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta organized crime network, who have been at war with each other for years. The arrests have already begun and dozens are being held in custody.
Police believe the conflict between the two clans served as the motive for the August 15 murders of six men in the western German city Duisburg. In the first
major mafia hit job to take place in Germany in years, six men between the ages of 16 and 38 were shot to death after leaving the Italian restaurant Da Bruno near the city's main train station.
In recent weeks, Italian officials have complained publicly that Germany has done far too little to combat widespread mafia links in the country. And in Germany, the crime spree has rekindled a public debate about how to deal with widespread and deep mafia roots that have been exported from Italy and planted here.
The Italian news agency Ansa is reporting that none of the suspects arrested is believed to be the actual culprit in the killing, but the brothers of two victims are among those in custody. However, the arrests did include the suspected masterminds behind the murder of Maria Strangio, the wife of clan boss Giovanni Nirta, last December.
Investigators believe the shooting spree in Germany might have been a revenge act linked to Strangio's slaying. The men arrested are suspected of murder, arms trafficking and mafia membership.
Most of the arrests are being made in San Luca, a village in southern Italy's Calabria region where the two clans are based, but other suspects are being sought by police in Rome, investigators said.