A court in Italy has sentenced over 200 people linked to ‘Ndrangheta mobsters following a trial held in a high-security bunker. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

‘Ndrangheta decimated

A court in Calabria has decimated the Italian crime syndicate ‘Ndrangheta after sentencing over 200 people to a collective 2,200 years in jail.

The historic three-year trial held in a high-security bunker in the ‘Ndrangheta heartland of Calabria brought not only hardened mobsters to justice, but also high-profile politicians, senior members of the police, and financiers.

drug and arms trafficking, extortion and mafia association”

The Court of Vibo Valentia sentenced the 200-plus people on charges including “drug and arms trafficking, extortion and mafia association.” According to Sky News, Chief Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, whose idea it was to build the bunker courtroom, led the three-year operation dubbed Rinascita-Scott.

Baglivo stated the ‘Ndrangheta masterminded “80% of Europe’s cocaine trade” with an estimated yearly revenue of £52bn ($65bn). The group laundered a portion of those proceeds through gambling companies based in Malta.

Nicknames galore

According to Sky News, mobsters brought to trial boasted nicknames such as “The Wolf, Fatty, Sweetie and Lamb Thigh.” Vibo Valentia handed out 30-year prison sentences to ‘Ndrangheta clan bosses Saverio Razionale and Domenico Bonavota.

He also sentenced ex-Forza Italia parliamentarian and lawyer Giancarlo Pittelli, Lieutenant Colonel of the Carabinieri Giorgio Naselli, and former financier Michele Marinaro to 11, 2.5, and 10 years in prison, respectively. Although the court sentenced over 200 individuals, more than 100 were acquitted.

Informants braved having their cars and property blown up or slaughtered animals left on their doorsteps – all methods previously used to intimidate witnesses. They told the court of ambulances used to transport narcotics, weapons hidden in graveyards, and “water diverted to growing marijuana.”

The Rinascita-Scott investigation owes the latter part of its name to ex-Drug Enforcement Agency special agent Scott Sieben. The former US Marine, who died in 2015, led Italian police to uncover the links between the ‘Ndrangheta and the cocaine cartels of Colombia.

Malta laundering

In 2015, Europol extradited six suspected ‘Ndrangheta mobsters from Malta to Italy to face prosecution. Prosecutors accused the gangsters of running a €2bn ($2.19bn) money-laundering operation through online betting firms based on the European island.

Six remote gambling companies were linked to the international investigation, along with a number of local property holdings.

Sicilian mafia Cosa Nostra also used Maltese online betting firms to launder its illegal proceeds. Police began to uncover that ploy in 2018 in a project called Operation Game Over.