Italian police targets top mafia clan in eastern Sicily, 15 arrested

Italian military police arrested 15 suspects in an anti-mafia operation in Sicily on Wednesday, local media reported.

The operation targeted people allegedly linked to the Santapaola-Ercolano mafia family, which is known as an important clan within the Sicilian mafia operating in the eastern part of the island, local media said.

All those arrested were charged with extortion and drug trafficking, according to prosecutors in Catania who ordered the arrests.

The local Anti-Mafia District Directorate (DDA) started an investigation after receiving several reports about property damages and threats by businessmen in the city of Randazzo.

Investigators said the alleged criminal group was trying to expand its hegemony over new areas across Catania, the second largest city in Sicily, through extortion, protection racket, and drug trafficking.

According to a police statement, the 15 people arrested were also focused on "preventing external interferences" in their territory, and Wednesday's operation thus helped avoid a possible mafia war among rival clans for the control over illegal activities in Catania province and other eastern areas of Sicily.

The Sicilian mafia, or Cosa Nostra, is one of the three main Italian crime syndicates along with 'Ndrangheta from Calabria, and Camorra from Naples.

Despite being now considered less powerful than 'Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra remains the oldest and most famous mafia group, with an illegal business which extends beyond Italy's borders.

According to a 2013 report by the European police office (Europol), the Sicilian syndicate "is mainly present in Spain, France and Germany, while its most significant presence outside the European Union is in the United States, Canada, Venezuela and South Africa." Endit