The omerta, the Italian mafia's notoriously impenetrable code of silence, may have been broken after a sequence of arrests were made across Europe on the basis of information obtained from a mafia widow.
Agents arrested 16 suspected mafia clan members in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany, who stand accused of smuggling cocaine across Europe, the BBC reports.
The suspects are said to belong to a clan based in Rosarno in the far south of Italy, which is home to the infamous 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The BBC's Alan Johnston notes that the 'Ndrangheta is renowned for being almost entirely impenetrable due to its watertight code of silence that categorically prohibits members from cooperating with authorities.
According to reports, the woman who provided the information had been married to a member of the Cacciola mafia family, but in 2005 her husband committed suicide. Subsequently, she was forced to live with her mafiosi in-laws under near house arrest. According to the Italian newspaper Gazetta del Sud, the woman was "reduced to slavery after being held responsible by the clan for her husband's suicide".
The woman eventually managed to get a message out appealing for assistance, and was rescued in a police raid. She subsequently began to collaborate with authorities which led to the arrest of the 16 suspected 'Ndrangheta members. The group has now been charged with cocaine trafficking, kidnapping, and forced slavery.
In June, Pope Francis condemned the mafia's "adoration of evil," and pronounced that the Church would "exert its full force" to combat organised crime, Reuters reports.
"Those who in their lives follow this path of evil, as mafiosi do, are not in communion with God. They are excommunicated," the Pope said in a mass in Calabria, southern Italy – an area known to be home to a number of major Mafia clans.
Several days later, a small Catholic diocese in southern Italy suspended all religious parades after a procession took a detour to salute a mafia boss held under house arrest, the BBC reports.
-
What’s the difference between a bull market and bear market?The Explainer How to tell if the market is soaring or slumping.
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Gaza ceasefire teeters as Netanyahu orders strikesSpeed Read Israel accused Hamas of firing on Israeli troops
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
