Italian police launched a series of raids against the Mafia clans operating in and around the Sicilian capital Palermo State.
Military Karabinil troops said more than 12,000 officers were involved in the operation, aiming to “demolition” the mafia in the area.
The raid was the largest in years and was regarded by Italian authorities as a bid to prevent the mafia from rebuilding its governing body.
Many mafia bosses have been released on appeal in recent months. But investigators say people who are still in prison continue to move using encrypted phones.
They also found that Sicily’s Cosa Nostra Mafia has updated its “founding fathers” practice and no longer needs to meet in person.
Police explained that a local leader managed to stay in hiding and still holds a seat on organized crime in his local area.
For more than 100 years, Sicily’s infamous mafia has maintained control over local towns and cities, ransomware businesses by protecting funds and making substantial profits from drug trafficking.
In the early 1990s, the Crusader’s anti-Malaysian prosecutor was murdered while trying to fight back.
Then, in 1993, the so-called boss owner Salvatore “Toto” Riina was arrested in Palermo and in 2023 the infamous gangster Matteo Mesteo Messina Denaro visited the local clinic was detained at the time.
Despite many thugs being jailed, Carabinieri said they had successfully smuggled small cell phones into their cells in a bid to continue their crimes.
Police said they discovered the mob’s encrypted chat by installing hearing equipment in the suspect’s home and car. However, they have not thought they had cracked the encryption, so their eavesdropping capabilities are limited.
According to La Repubblica, police are still trying to find chat members with nicknames such as Robert de Niro and Spider Man.
The raid on Tuesday began before dawn, targeting the clans across Palermo, from Tommaso Natale in the north of New York City to Porta Nuova in the center.
Police said their investigations cover a range of suspected crimes, from mafia associations and drug trafficking to attempted murder and armed crimes.
Among the arrested, several bosses who have been released from prison have been arrested.
Among them is reportedly Tommaso Lo Presti, who spent 12 years in jail before being released in 2023.
There was a strong protest last year when it celebrated his silver medal wedding anniversary at the Palermo Church, anti-Mafaya prosecutor Giovanni Falcone was buried.
