A nun is among 24 people arrested in northern Italy in connection with a mafia investigation, Italian police have said.
The nun, named in Italian press as Sister Anna Donelli, was arrested for allegedly acting as a go-between for the ‘Ndrangheta mafia and its jailed gang members.
The arrests are a result of a four-year investigation into the ‘Ndrangheta, which is one of Europe’s most influential and dangerous criminal organisations.
The operation is continuing, with hundreds of police officers conducting searches across northern Italy.
Originating in the impoverished region of Calabria, the ‘Ndrangheta is considered one of the world’s most dangerous criminal organisations.
According to Italian police, a nun is one of 24 individuals detained in northern Italy as part of a mafia investigation.
The nun, known in Italian media as Sister Anna Donelli, was taken into custody on suspicion of serving as a liaison between the ‘Ndrangheta mafia and its imprisoned gang members.
Over €1.8m (£1.5m) worth of assets were seized by police during raids in several towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions, as well as Calabria in the south, and two politicians were also taken into custody.
The ‘Ndrangheta, one of the most powerful and dangerous criminal organizations in Europe, was the subject of a four-year investigation that led to the arrests.
The coalition of law enforcement agencies that carried out the sting issued statements outlining the accusations that the nun took advantage of her role as a prison volunteer.
Her religious role gave her “free access to the penitentiary facilities,” according to Brescia Carabinieri, who described her as an innocent person.
The politicians and other people targeted in the investigation were not identified in police statements.
Hundreds of police officers are searching northern Italy as part of the ongoing operation.
According to police, they are assisted by “cash dogs” who are trained to look for cash as well as sniffer dog units that look for drugs and weapons.
The group, according to investigators, mainly used scrap metal trading companies as a front to launder money, allegedly laundering around €12 million in total, according to prosecutors.
The ‘Ndrangheta is regarded as one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the world and started in the poor region of Calabria.
In one of the largest mafia trials in Italy’s history, more than 200 individuals received sentences totaling more than 2,200 years in prison in November of last year.
