By Humberto Viera
Sep 30, 2024, 1:28 PM EDT
The Italian police carried out a large-scale operation this Monday in Milan, located in the north of the country, to dismantle criminal organizations associated with the ultra groups of the Inter and Milan soccer teams.
The National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor of Italy Giovanni Melillo stressed in a press conference reported by EFE the importance of the operation: “It is an important operation that forces us to open our eyes to a reality of long-evident risks regarding criminal drift in the Italian stadiums” and on “the risks of infiltration into professional and non-professional football by organized crime.”
During the operation, 19 people were arrested, of which 16 are in preventive detention and 3 under house arrest. Among those detained are the leaders of the ultra groups, who face charges of “criminal conspiracy crimes, aggravated by the mafia method, in addition to extortion, injuries and other serious crimes.”
The detainees, mostly leaders and members of the ‘Curva Norte’, Inter Milan’s ultra group, also face accusations of their links to the Calabrian N’drangheta, considered the most powerful criminal organization in the world.
The charges include the illegal sale of tickets for matches of both teams, the imposition of “protection” on street vendors in exchange for payments and the illegal management of parking lots around the stadium.
The investigation began in 2022 after the murder of the Inter ultra leader Antonio Belloco, which unleashed a “war of succession” within the ‘Northern Curve’, linked to the N’drangheta and other historical mafia families in Milan that were dedicated to extortion and “protection” in exchange for fees.
For their part, in the Milan ultra group, known as ‘Curva sur’, those arrested are accused of criminal association, although without the mafia aggravating factor.
Among those arrested is also Manfredi Palmeri, regional councilor of Lombardy and councilor of the Milan City Council, accused of corruption in relation to the concession of management of the stadium’s car parks.
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