Italian police on Thursday made 56
arrests in a crackdown on the prominent Santapaola-Ercolano clan
in eastern Sicily.
Some of the men arrested belonged to another clan, the Nardos
from Lentini.
The warrants were served by over 400 police in Catania, Ramacca,
Vizzini, Caltagirone and San Michele di Ganzaria, and in three
towns near Siracusa: Lentini, Carlentini and Francofonte.
Police said the two clans practised widespread drug trafficking
and distribution as well as running protection rackets in and
around Catania and Siracusa.
They also cornered the market in public sector contracts in the
city of Caltagirone, police said.
The Santapaola-Ercolano clan is run from jail by elderly
superboss Benedetto 'Nitto' Santapaola.
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