A massive Mob takedown in Italy this week saw scores of grey-haired men with tiny moustaches and custom silk suits (we assume that’s what Mafiosi look like) jailed.
What happened: Italy carried out its largest bust in decades against the infamous Cosa Nostra Mafia this week, arresting and re-arresting over 160 members. It was the capper to a two-year probe into the Sicilian crime group’s drug dealing, protection rackets, and recruitment schemes.
- La Cosa Nostra ain’t what it used to be, falling behind Calabria’s 'Ndrangheta, but was regrowing its ranks and re-establishing power after decades of suppression.
Why it matters: The country’s Mafia crackdown has sent criminals packing to… Canada. In a presentation reviewed by The Peak, Stephen Schneider, a crime researcher, laid out how Mob leadership has migrated from Calabria to the GTA as it’s pushed out of Italy by jailings.
Big picture: There are an estimated nine cells in Ontario that are part of ‘Ndrangheta. Italian police have accused the province of becoming the group’s global “power centre,” attracted by criminal opportunities, proximity to drug-source countries, and lack of Mafia-focused law.
Zoom out: Italy has scored several big Mafia busts in recent years, the most prominent being a 2019 raid of the 'Ndrangheta that resulted in the convictions of more than 230 Mob affiliates. Another bust targeting the 'Ndrangheta happened in 2023 in which over 100 people were arrested, millions of euros seized, and thousands of tonnes of drugs confiscated.—QH