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WORLD NEWS Thursday 6 december 2018

Police arrest 84 in European crackdown on Italian mob

By MIKE CORDER, most powerful criminal or-
Associated Press ganization, eclipsing by far
THE HAGUE, Netherlands Sicily's Cosa Nostra or the
(AP) — In an investigation Naples area Camorra.
that underscored an Italian Eurojust said the massive
crime syndicate's role as a probe was the biggest of
leading player in interna- its kind in Europe. About
tional cocaine trafficking, four tons of cocaine were
police in four countries ar- traced during the investi-
rested at least 84 suspect- gation. Cocaine and ec-
ed mobsters Wednesday in stasy pills also were seized
a series of carefully coordi- in Wednesday's raids.
nated raids. Italian police hailed the
Those detained allegedly close cooperation be-
work for the Italian 'ndrang- tween European police
heta criminal network that forces and Eurojust's co-
traffics in cocaine on a ordination, saying it was
global scale. an important new crime-
"It's almost a cliche, but the fighting tactic that allowed
operation carried out today investigators in different
confirms again the great countries to share informa-
danger of the 'ndrangheta, tion in real time.
not just in drug trafficking, Masked police stand in an ice parlor in Duisburg, western Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018 as But Italy's top Mafia prose-
authorities conduct coordinated raids in Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands in a crack-
where it's the undisputed down on the Italian mafia. cutor, Federico Cafiero De
leader, but (also) in the fi- Associated Press Raho, also sounded a note
nancial sphere," said Fran- of caution, saying the raids
cesco Ratta, a top police set up to bolster the fight ders; so are Europe's judi- fia in the Sicilian capital only scratched the surface
official in the southern Ital- against cross-border crime ciary and law enforcement of Palermo by arresting 46 of the powerful 'ndrang-
ian region of Calabria. "It's in the 28-nation bloc. Euro- communities." people, including the man heta, whose tentacles and
an evolved 'ndrangheta, just and EU police agency As well as arresting dozens presumed to have taken illicit activities, including
that we can say knows no Europol coordinated the of suspected mobsters in It- over as provincial kingpin. huge cocaine trafficking
borders ... It's an 'ndranghe- raids. aly, Germany, Belgium and Wednesday's raids were operations, were spread all
ta that day by day chang- "Today we send a clear the Netherlands, police the culmination of a two- over the world.
es its skin ... but still keeps message to organized seized drugs and around 2 year investigation code- Speaking in The Hague,
ties" to its home base in Ca- crime groups across Eu- million euros ($2.3 million). named Pollino against the Cafiero de Raho said the
labria. rope," said Filippo Spiezia, It was the second signifi- powerful 'ndrangheta crim- arrests "are nothing for
European officials an- vice president of Eurojust, cant mob takedown in as inal group on allegations of 'ndrangheta. There are
nounced the arrests at the EU prosecution agency many days. On Tuesday, cocaine trafficking, money thousands of people who
the Hague headquarters that coordinated the raids. Italian authorities said they laundering, bribery and vi- should be arrested and bil-
of Eurojust, the European "They are not the only ones had dismantled the rebuilt olence, Eurojust said. lions of euros that should be
Union prosecutors agency able to operate across bor- upper echelons of the Ma- The 'ndrangheta is Italy's seized."q

UN hosts meeting of regional envoys over Western Sahara

Associated Press future of the Morocco-an- years, after meeting with mination of the people of Morocco has proposed
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. nexed territory. them bilaterally earlier Western Sahara." wide-ranging autonomy for
secretary-general's envoy U.N. envoy Horst Koehler, a Wednesday. Morocco annexed the Western Sahara, while the
for Western Sahara is meet- former German president, The U.N. says the two-day former Spanish colony in Polisario Front wants a ref-
ing with foreign ministers hosted a "round-table" dis- meeting is a first step to- 1975 and fought the pro- erendum on the territory's
from Algeria, Morocco and cussion among the attend- ward a renewed nego- independence Polisario future.q
Mauritania plus leaders of ees at the first U.N.-hosted tiations process aiming to Front until a U.N.-brokered
the Polisario Front over the talks on the territory in six "provide for the self-deter- cease-fire in 1991.