Italian police have arrested 181 people in a crackdown on the Sicilian mafia.
Authorities launched a series of raids early on Tuesday, detaining suspected members of the mafia for alleged crimes including attempted murder, extortion, drug trafficking and more.
A total of 1,200 officers were involved in the operation aimed at dismantling mafia clans in several districts of the capital Palermo.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said several alleged mafia bosses were among those arrested and described the sting as a “very hard blow to Cosa Nostra”. Over 50kg of drugs were also seized.
Palermo mayor Roberto Lagalla also praised the operation, said the arrests “dealt a historic blow to the mafia”.
The large-scale sting suggests the organisation, an association of a number of groups, remains a significant criminal force despite setbacks in recent decades.
Police said Palermo’s mafia families were still coordinating their activities across the city and its province like they used to in the heyday of Cosa Nostra.
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They added that inner city families had regained authority compared to the years in which a faction from Corleone – a town outside Palermo – dominated, that was the birthplace of notorious bosses Toto Riina and Bernardo Provenzano.
But the Carabinieri police said the group had recently modernised, turning to encrypted smartphones.
This allowed the most influential mafia bosses to communicate with one another while avoiding police attention, officers said in a statement.
Such was the level of secrecy the method allowed, that one individual on the run for almost two years continued to “govern the district” – continue criminal activities in his area – communicating only using the mobiles.
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The Carabinieri said the use of such devices was “systematic”.
“We move forward with determination, because the mafia can and must be defeated,” minister of defence Guido Crosetto said, congratulating police on the arrests.
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Alongside Tuesday’s arrests, additional warrants were also issued for 33 suspects who were already in prison for other crimes.
The Carabinieri also said Cosa Nostra continued to attract young people, documenting an example of one new recruit being given “mafia lessons” by an older associate.
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“The young man was allegedly ‘taken in charge’ by a suspect who offered him specific instructions… as well as advising him on how to relate to the mafia leaders,” police said.
