Nigerian mafia hide cash in pasta packets

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 22 - Italy's Nigerian mafia hid some of the proceeds of its vast Italian prostitution rackets in pasta packets and the handles of wheelie luggage to send the cash back to Nigeria and invest it in property there, Italian police said Monday.
    Police from Cagliari arrested 40 people in the probe.
    They placed 120 people under investigation.
    Italy's Nigerian mafia specializes in prostitution and trafficking women.
    It has grown almost as rich and powerful as the country's three main home-grown mafias, 'Ndrangheta from Calabria, Cosa Nostra from Sicily and the Camorra from Campania, police say. (ANSA).