Carabinieri maxi blitz against the 'ndrangheta, 97 arrests. Former Calabria councillor under house arrest

A maxi operation by the Carabinieri for the execution of three pre-trial detention orders issued by the gip of Reggio Calabria, at the request of the Dda, against 97 suspects was carried out in the Reggio Calabria area and in other Italian cities. The blitz hit some of the most important 'ndrangheta cosche whose associates are accused, in various capacities, of mafia association, external conspiracy in mafia association, association aimed at trafficking, including international trafficking, drugs, possession and sale of drugs, extortion, kidnapping for extortion, mafia political electoral exchange and possession and carrying of weapons.

The former regional councillors of Calabria Sebastiano Romeo of the Democratic Party and Alessandro Nicolò, then of Fratelli d'Italia, are under investigation in state of freedom in the Millennium investigation coordinated by the Dda of Reggio Calabria and conducted by the Carabinieri. Nicolò, in recent years, was involved in the 'Black Book' investigation and is still on trial. Those arrested under house arrest include former regional councillor Pasquale Tripodi, for whom the mafia aggravating circumstance has been ruled out. In the operation, among the various crimes charged in various capacities to the suspects, there is also the political-mafia electoral exchange but, according to what has been learnt so far, there are no politicians in office among the recipients of the precautionary measure. Instead, individuals who campaigned in the 2020 regional elections in Calabria would be involved. Several members of the Alvaro cosca of Sinopoli ended up in prison, including Cosimo Alvaro known as 'Pelliccia'.