According to their own statements, the Italian police have achieved another success against the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta.
In an extensive raid, a branch of the mafia organization was broken up and assets worth more than 250 million euros were confiscated, the police said on Thursday.
The arrested are accused, among other things, of transporting and selling stolen agricultural machinery to Malta and Romania.
Around 300 police officers were involved in the operation in the early hours of the morning.
He focused on areas controlled by the Mancuso clan and its members - a powerful branch of the notorious 'Ndrangheta.
The officers also took action against suspects in other parts of Calabria, as well as in Palermo, Rome and Milan.
Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, who has been under police protection for his investigations into the 'Ndrangheta for more than 30 years, described the branch that has now been dismantled as a "wild mafia syndicate" that controls the areas around the tourist resort of Tropea.
According to the police, businessmen, a member of the regional council, a former head of the regional tourist board and two civil servants were also arrested in the latest raid, along with suspected mafia members.
The already imprisoned mafia boss Luigi Manusco has been on trial for a year.
Because of their far-reaching impact on the local economy, the 'Ndrangheta have been nearly impossible to stop.
The organization controls most of the cocaine flowing into Europe and is now more powerful than its Sicilian rival Cosa Nostra.
Illegal profits from international business are reinvested in the legal economy.