OREANDA-NEWS. A large-scale operation against a group linked to the Calabrian mafia has ended in Germany and Italy. On the morning of Wednesday, May 5, more than 80 sites in the two countries were searched and several people suspected of links to the Calabrian group «Ndrangheta» were detained, the prosecutor's office in Constance and the main police department in Ravensburg said.

About 800 law enforcement officers participated in Operation «Platinum», which was carried out following about three years of investigations. In Germany, 46 searches were carried out in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine — Westphalia and Hesse, in Italy — 41 searches in the regions of Piedmont, Calabria and Sardinia.

According to the prosecutor's office in Ravensburg, arrest warrants were issued in Germany for three people, and one of them was detained. In Italy, a total of 30 arrest warrants were issued and several people were detained. In addition, information carriers, documents, phones, drugs, cash, valuables worth at least 6 million euros were seized.

The detainees, among other things, are charged with drug trafficking and smuggling several hundred kilograms of cocaine from the Netherlands to Italy. In addition, in Germany, the group is accused of large-scale tax evasion in the course of supplying products from Italy to Italian restaurants and shops throughout Germany.

Earlier it became known about the investigation of the Italian authorities in relation to the network of drug dealers «Ndrangheta», which carries out illegal operations, including on the territory of Germany. The operation against the mafia group is led by the prosecutor's office in Turin. Searches were also carried out in Romania and Spain.