Mafia boss used bizarre 'sheep code' to communicate with his henchmen

The ricotta was not really ricotta, if you catch my drift.

The BBC reports that 11 men were arrested in Italy for their connections to the fugitive head of the Sicilian mafia, Matteo Messina Denaro. Denaro, who has been on the run since 1993 and is the successor of two jailed godfathers, once boasted he could "fill a cemetery" with his victims.

As much as this sounds like a scene from The Godfather, one detail was, well, less Hollywood-ready than the others: The mafia boss reportedly communicated with his henchmen using sheep-related codes. By leaving scraps of paper on a farm in western Sicily, Denaro transmitted messages to his followers such as, "the sheep need shearing," or "the hay is ready," or "I've put the ricotta cheese aside for you, will you come by later?"

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

The BBC reports that "officers do not believe that the alleged criminals were really discussing agricultural matters."