Clan bosses arrested

Major anti-mafia raid in Palermo: 181 arrests

(Bild: Wilhelm Eder)

In the course of a large-scale anti-mafia raid, 181 people, including several bosses of organized crime clans, were arrested in the Sicilian city of Palermo on Tuesday.

A total of 1,200 security forces were involved in the raid, as reported by the Carabinieri. Those arrested are accused of blackmail, murder, assault, drug and arms trafficking, among other things.

Bosses knew about imminent arrests
According to the investigators, prominent mafia bosses had learned of the imminent arrests. Some of them were in the process of organizing their escape abroad. After the arrests, dozens of relatives of mafiosi gathered in front of the police barracks in Palermo. They were waiting for information about their arrested family members.

Sicily is generally regarded as the region of origin of the Italian mafia, which has three other large organizations in addition to Cosa Nostra: the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria, the Camorra in Naples and Campania and the Sacra Corona Unita in Apulia.

Extortion a main source of income
Cosa Nostra is based in Sicily and consists of a small number of families. The number of members is currently estimated at around 5000. The extortion of protection money is still one of its main sources of income, but more and more entrepreneurs are now fighting back against the criminal organization.

Cosa Nostra emerged in the first half of the 19th century. It operates worldwide and is linked to numerous other criminal groups.