Police on Tuesday executed arrest
warrants for at least 40 people suspected of being members of,
or having links with, the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta mafia.
The suspects were detained in Calabria itself, the Lazio
region around Rome, and in various northern regions including
Liguria and Piedmont.
Investigators suspect that a number of politicians and
officials from the Italian tax agency were in contact with some
of the arrested people, who are thought to be linked to the
Raso-Gullace-Albanese and Parrello-Gagliostro clans and whose
alleged illegal activities were concentrated in northern Italy.
Investigators also seized assets including properties,
companies and bank accounts worth around 40 million euros as
part of Tuesday's operation.
The clans are suspected to have muscled in on contracts
for the Terzo Valico, a 6.2-billion-euro project for a new
high-speed rail line between Genoa and Milan.
A preliminary investigation judge rejected a request from
Reggio Calabria prosecutors for an arrest warrant for Giuseppe
Galati, an MP for the small centre-right ALA party, in relation
to the 'Ndrangheta probe, sources said.
The judge said the evidence against Galati did not justify
his arrest, the sources said.
Antonio Caridi, a Senator for Silvio Berlusconi's
centre-right Forza Italia, is also involved in the case, source
said.
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