display
Catania / Schwaigern (dpa / lsw) - The Italian police carried out a major operation against a mafia gang that had connections to Germany, Poland and Malta.
The financial police in the Sicilian city of Catania announced on Wednesday that arrests or other legal measures were initiated against 23 suspects.
More than 300 people are being investigated.
It concerns allegations of illegal gambling on the Internet as well as money laundering, tax evasion and fraud.
During the investigations by the public prosecutors from Catania, international funds and real estate worth around 80 million euros were confiscated.
The buildings and land were located in the Emilia-Romagna region and in Apulia.
There was also a hotel and restaurant business in Schwaigern (Heilbronn district), as the police reported.
The suspects are said to belong to the network of the Santapaola-Ercolano clan of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra.
In addition to the illegal online platform for sports betting, they are also said to have operated a network for international money transfer.
The island nation of Malta and Poland played an important role in this, the authorities explained.
There were twelve arrest warrants and two people were placed under house arrest.
Others are no longer allowed to do business.
display
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210303-99-670566 / 2