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Italy's police bust online gambling racket, 46 alleged mobsters arrested

Xinhua, February 7, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Italian police broke up an online gambling racket on Tuesday, with 46 arrest warrants issued for alleged members of a mafia clan, according to local media.

The operation was ordered by prosecutors of the Anti-Mafia District Directorate (DDA) in Naples, and carried out across seven Italian provinces by Italy's military Carabinieri police, Ansa news agency reported.

Jailed boss Francesco Schiavone of the Naples-based Camorra mob was among those targeted in the operation. All of the 46 suspects were variously charged with mafia association, extortion, illegal possession of weapons, possession of stolen goods, fraudulent asset ownership, and other related crimes.

The suspects were allegedly running a large gambling racket across the seven provinces. Local retailers in the areas had been forced to use a specific online gaming platform in their stores, and up to 60 percent of all proceeds of the gambling was extorted, according to investigators.

Most of the suspects are believed to belong to the Venosa-Schiavone family connected with the powerful Casalesi clan of the Camorra mob.

The ring's illegal businesses would have ranged from extortion and money laundering to drug trafficking and gambling rackets. The investigation uncovered all the activities run by the clan between 2011 and 2015, thanks also to revelations of a former boss turned repentant, according to Naples-based Il Mattino newspaper. Endit