Ndrangheta Raided as Part of Combined Law Enforcement Effort

Swiss and Italian police  joined forces two years ago to investigate the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta in Switzerland.
Old time Ndrangheta
boss Antonio Macri. 

The Calabrian Mafia is ramping up illegal activity in Switzerland.

Which says a lot, considering they have been operating in the Thurgau state of Switzerland for the past 40 years, with alleged involvement in cocaine, weapons dealing, extortion and trafficking.

A video shot near Zurich from a hidden-camera was released after police arrested 16 people in Italy, two of whom live in Frauenfeld, the capital of the member state of Thurgau in Switzerland. The Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office is now expecting extradition requests from the Italian authorities.



Reported SWI swissinfo.ch: "Swiss Federal Prosecutor Michael Lauber confirmed the arrests, emphasising the close cooperation with the Italian authorities. As a part of “Operation Helvetia”, police from both countries joined forces two years ago to investigate the dealings of the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta in Switzerland."

Most of the criminal activities were carried out in Italy.

About a dozen men were caught on camera having a meeting in Frauenfeld, a small town in canton Thurgau, some 44 kilometres north of Zurich.

The Ndrangheta has been "on the march" for decades while law enforcement focused on the more high-profile Sicilian Cosa Nostra.

This past February, Ndrangheta and New York mob associates were arrested for drug smuggling.



An alleged mob associate was arrested as part of a series of coordinated raids between U.S., Italian law enforcement officials.

Following a two-year probe that involved wiretaps and undercover agents, law enforcement officials in a coordinated effort today launched predawn raids in both Calabria, Italy, and Brooklyn, New York, to smash apart a $1 billion global drug ring that included members of both the Italian Ndrangheta and associates of the New York Mafia -- specifically associates of the Gambino and Bonanno families

More than 20 were arrested. In the U.S. one Ndrangheta member was arrested, as well as the two Mafia associates, and four others related to the various groups involved in the ring.

A 15-count indictment unsealed Tuesday identified the suspects as Ndrangheta member Raffaele “Lello” Valente, Gambino associate Franco Lupoi, Bonanno associate Charles “Charlie Pepsi” Centaro, as well as Dominic Ali, Alexander Chan and Christos Fasarakis, all of Brooklyn, and Jose Alfredo “Freddy” Garcia of New York.

Those arrested here will be arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court on drug, money laundering and weapons charges.


READ ABOUT THE LETHAL HISTORY OF THE NDRANGHETA HERE




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