Italian Mafia Drug Raid: 24 Arrested in U.S. and Italy

A major Trans-Atlantic Italian Mafia drug smuggling operation was raided early Tuesday morning. The raid targeted both New York members and Italy members. Right after mid-night on Monday or (Tues morning) undercover agents raided locations in Brooklyn, while undercover agents across the ocean raided locations in Italy.

In all, 24 men were arrested, some were even said to be the head of the powerful U.S. Mafia Family, the Gambinos.

The Calabria based 'Ndrangheta Mafia which is much like the Sicilian Mafia, the Cosa Nostra, has been bridging an alliance in America with U.S. mafias to traffic drugs and guns into the U.S.using such avenues like South America.

The undercover operation used wire taps, computer e-mails, and undercover agents to infiltrate the mafia group that were using fruit companies as a cover to smuggle drugs into Italy and back out to America.



In the process of the undercover operation coded "Operation New Bridge" they were tracking plans that the 'Ndrangheta mafia had to smuggle in 500kg of cocaine from Guyana to Italy to be cut distributed to different customers including ones in the U.S.


The value of the 500kg or 1000 pounds would of had an estimated street value, after being cut, of about $1 billion.

U.S. attorney Marshall Miller said, "The raid struck at the heart of the Italian Mafia Crime Syndicate."