Maxi anti-mafia blitz: over 300 arrests against the 'ndrangheta

A major anti-mafia operation has led to the arrest of 334 individuals, charged with mafia association and other crimes. The blitz, named "Rinascita-Scott," was coordinated by the Anti-Mafia Prosecutor's Office of Catanzaro and involved over 2,500 officers from the Carabinieri's ROS and the provincial command of Vibo Valentia.

Among those arrested are prominent members of the Vibo Valentia 'ndrangheta, as well as figures from the political and business worlds. Affected include the president of Anci Calabria Gianluca Callipo, mayor of Pizzo, former Forza Italia parliamentarian Giancarlo Pittelli, and the commander of the municipal police of Vibo, Filippo Nesci. Concurrently with the arrests, a preventive seizure order for assets worth approximately 15 million euros was issued.

Operation "Renaissance-Scott" represents one of the most significant blows dealt to the 'ndrangheta since the Palermo maxi-trial of the 1980s. The 'ndrangheta is a criminal organization of Calabrian origin, now considered among the most powerful and far-reaching in the world, with interests ranging from drug trafficking to money laundering, from extortion to infiltration into the legal economy and politics.

The investigation, launched by the Catanzaro Prosecutor's Office led by prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, specifically targeted clans in the province of Vibo Valentia, documenting their expansion across Italy and into European countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Bulgaria. The investigative method included wiretaps and the collection of evidence that allowed for the reconstruction of summits and command structures, including a "pizzino" (secret note) containing the formula for conferring the high rank of "tre quartino." This blow aims to decapitate the command structures and sever the ties between crime, politics, and business that have characterized the organization's operations for decades.