ROME, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Eighteen people have been arrested and dozens more are under investigation in a major police operation against two mafia groups on Tuesday, Italian authorities announced.
Following a six-year investigation, the top figures of organized crime in the capital were among those targeted in a joint operation by the Anti-Mafia District Directorate (DDA) and the Rome Prosecution Office.
All of those arrested were allegedly members of two mob-style groups based in Rome and were charged with various crimes, including mafia association, extortion, usury, fictitious registration of assets, money laundering, and other offenses, all aggravated by mafia methods.
Another 39 people were officially put under investigation for those crimes, while three companies and approximately 131 million euros (141.8 million U.S. dollars) in assets were seized. The operation involved over 500 police officers across the entire national territory.
Launched in 2018, the inquiry uncovered a large business network linking the two Rome-based groups to clans belonging to Italy's powerful traditional mafia, the Anti-Mafia Investigative Directorate (DIA) said in a statement.
The investigation allowed prosecutors to gather "serious circumstantial evidence of the existence of a money laundering headquarters operating in Rome, with interests throughout the country," the DIA stated.
Investigators explained that this association allegedly managed its illegal business through "the power of intimidation and subjugation stemming from both their close links with traditional mafia organizations and their immediate access to war and common firearms." ■
