Italian police hit Sicilian and Naples Mafia joint venture

Italian police made another strike against the mafia this time they hit both the Sicilian Mafia and the Naples Mafia who were operating in a dual venture. Authorities say that the usually rival mafia clans put aside their differences to work together and take control of the huge vegetable markets in southern and central Italy. They controlled prices and decided which companies transported produce.

Sixty Mafia suspects were arrested in the raids from both the Sicilian and Naples based mafia organizations. Around 20 of the suspects arrested are believed to belong to the Naples mafia’s Casalesi Clan and about a dozen of the others arrested belonged to the Mallardo and Licciardi Clans. There were also six arrested from the Santapaola mafia clan.

The mafia bosses running the vegetable markets behind the scene’s were forcing growers to use a mafia owned haulage firm for the transportation on all their crops. This mafia run company was transporting produce locally and all the way to Sicily where one of Europe’s largest markets is located in the town of Fondi surrounding Rome. The powerful Mafia clans were able to control the raising of prices which in end got passed on to the consumers.

This is just one example of how families and clans of the Mafia organizations are now starting to work together and putting aside the traditional rivalry. This new found willingness to work together could make the Mafia an even stronger force as its enormous profits rise and its power base expands to even further reaches then it is now. Italian police’s crack down on the Mafia continues and they say they are making it increasingly harder for the Mafia to continue to operate.