The daring raid that led to 35 members of mafia members arrested for drug trafficking

35 members of a deadly Sicilian gang have been arrested in a major crackdown over millions in drug trafficking and a used oil scheme.

Italian police arrested 35 members of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra mafia in the town of Niscemi on April 22.

Video from the best shows officers carrying out coordinated arrests, with multiple units involved in the operation.

Authorities said 35 people were targeted by court orders, with 32 placed in pre-trial detention and three under house arrest.

With the help of canine units, territorial officers, helicopter squadrons and other officers, more than two dozen were arrested on mafia-type association, external participation in mafia association, aggravated extortion, and illicit competition with violence and threat.

They’re also charged with aggravated personal aiding, illegal waste trafficking, unauthorised waste management activities, an association aimed at drug trafficking and possession for the purpose of dealing drugs.

The investigation was described as a development of a previous operation, dubbed ‘Mondo Opposto’ that led to arrests in December 2023, including a figure identified as a mafia boss who allegedly controlled territory through intimidation.

Investigators said the group had infiltrated the local economy, particularly the sector dealing with used vegetable oil, imposing contracts on businesses through threats.

They allegedly demanded fixed payments from companies per contract and litres of oil collected.

There are also more than 200 alleged drug transactions, involving around 1.5 kilogrammes of cocaine and three kilogrammes of cannabis.

£5.19 million worth of assets linked to the illegal waste trade were also seized.

Two years ago, a Mafia boss responsible for dozens of murders was finally arrested after 30 years on the run.

Matteo Messina Denaro was a young man when he went into hiding, but soon became Italy’s most-wanted man.

He had a power base in the port city of Trapani, in western Sicily, and was considered the top Cosa Nostra boss even while a fugitive.

Some of the grisly crimes he was found guilty of include two bombings that killed anti-Mafia prosecutors, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, in 1992.

He was also convicted in the murder of a Mafia informant’s young son, who was strangled and dissolved in a vat of acid.

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