10 Mafia arrests near Agrigento

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 11 - Italian police on Wednesday arrested 10 suspected members of the Sicilian Mafia on suspicion of running drug and protection rackets in and around the southwestern coastal city of Agrigento.
    Operation Condor took place in the eastern part of the area, between Licata, Palma di Montechiaro, and Canicattì and uncovered a Cosa Nostra gang dealing in drugs and extorting businessmen, police said.
    Over 100 police also carried out 20 raids on buildings in the area.
    Condor is part of police efforts to track down Cosa Nostra's no 1 fugitive boss, Matteo Messina Denaro aka Diabolik, 60, who has been on the run for 30 years and is among the world's ten most wanted criminals.
    Police said the operation had also unveiled links between Cosa Nostra and its Calabrian neighbour 'Ndrangheta.
    One side-effect of the protection rackets on local grape producers was to triple the price of their products, police said. (ANSA).