JAKARTA - Around 130 people were arrested in a massive operation against the Sicily mafia in Palermo.
This shows the group is still a significant criminal force despite experiencing setbacks in recent decades.
"Cosa Nostra", a mafia syndicate based on and around Palermo, terrorized Italy in the 1980s and 1990s, but has since been taken over as the most powerful mafia in Europe by 'Ndrangheta from Calabria.
The suspects arrested on Tuesday, February 11, were charged with various crimes, including drug trafficking, attempted murder, extortion, illegal online gambling and possession of illegal firearms, police Carabinieri said.
Additional arrest warrants were issued for 33 suspects who have been jailed for other crimes.
The investigation revealed the Palermo mafia family coordinated their activities across cities and provinces, as they usually did in the golden age of Cosa Nostra, especially those related to drug trafficking.
They said the inner-city families had regained authority compared to the years in which they were dominated by factions of the city outside Palermo which is the birthplace of famous bosses Toto Riina and Bernardo Provenzano.
Modern-time bosses use modern technology to run their business, using encrypted phones smuggled into prisons so that jailed bosses can continue to carry out their orders.
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Despite being weakened by law enforcement activities, Cosa Nostra continues to attract the interest of the younger generation, Carabinieri said, noting they documented an example of a new recruitment given by her older partner.
The prospective mentor gave the young man "special instructions, invited him to take for example his behavior towards people who were subjected to extortion, and advised him on how to relate to mafia leaders," a police statement said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, wrote on X, praising the arrests as "a very tough blow to Cosa Nostra", and giving a clear signal "the war against the mafia has not stopped and will not stop".
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