Italian police on Tuesday arrested 91 Mafia bosses, underlings, loan sharks and front men belonging to two 'historic' Palermo clans operating in Milan in a probe into the Mob's efforts to take advantage of the coronavirus to infiltrate the Italian economy.
Other clans including the Acquasantas and the Arenellas were also hit.
The two historic Palermo clans, the Ferrantes and the Fontanas, allegedly coordinated criminal activities from Milan, police said.
Charges range from mafia association to extortion, fraudulent assets possession, receiving stolen goods, money laundering, drug trafficking, sporting fraud and fraud, police said.
Police said Cosa Nostra was set to spring into action and gobble up crisis-hit firms and other activities that shut down during the virus lockdown. They said the economic crisis was a "very favourable context for boosting the clans' criminal plans".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
