Police seize 280 mn euros, hold 23 in Rome anti-mafia operation

Rome, June 23 (IANS/AKI) Italian police on Friday impounded assets worth some 280 million euros and arrested 23 people in a major anti-mafia operation in the provinces of Rome, Naples, Milan and Pescara.

The suspects are accused of extortion, usury, money-laundering and fraud, according to police.

The seized assets belonged to two gangs based in Rome and nearby Monterotondo that were rapidly expanding their activities in the capital and included several 'celebrity' bars and eateries, police said.

The impounded assets also included gambling halls, real estate, financial assets, companies, cars and motorbikes, police added.

Through drug trafficking and usury rackets in Rome and the its surrounding province, the gangs had created a business "empire" and had cowed their victims into silence through threats and violence, said Rome prosecutor Michele Prestipino.

A number of professional people and bank employees had abetted the gangs, he told reporters.

"These professional played an important role in these criminal organisations, creating shell companies, while their accomplices in banks helped them launder money," Prestipino stated.

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