Italian police arrest at least 45 in anti-mafia operation

At least 45 people were arrested in an anti-mafia operation carried out in Naples on Tuesday, the Italian police said.

The operation targeted two clans of the local Camorra mob leading the cocaine traffic in some central districts of the city, according to prosecutors of the Anti-Mafia District Directorate (DDA) in Naples.

Several children were involved in the illegal business of the gangs, which used them to wrap drug doses, and have them delivered at the clients' homes, chief prosecutor Giovanni Colangelo told a press conference.

"Some of the children were not even 10 years old," DDA prosecutor Filippo Beatrice explained.

All of the minors involved in the trafficking were under the age of 14, and as such were not indictable, the authorities added.

Those arrested were variously charged with mafia association, drug trafficking, extortion, and illegal possession of weapons. All the latter charges were aggravated by mafia methods.

Overall, the 45 arrests carried out on Tuesday involved members of the Elia clan; in the same operation, another 17 arrest warrants were issued by the DDA against the Amato-Pagano family. The two Camorra clans were allegedly confronting each other in order to extend their control on drug dealing over the northern districts of Naples.

Some weapons were seized in the operation, which was carried out by Italy's military police force Carabinieri. Enditem