German police clamp down on Italian mob with raids, arrests

BERLIN (AP) — Police have arrested suspects and raided homes across Germany in a massive effort to clamp down on member of the Italian ’ndrangheta organized crime syndicate. More than 1,000 officers searched dozens of homes, offices and stores in three states early Wednesday, prosecutors said in a joint statement. More than 30 suspects who had outstanding warrants were arrested. Among other things, the suspects are accused of money laundering, gang tax evasion, commercial gang fraud and narcotics smuggling, the state office of criminal investigation in North Rhine-Westphalia said. The raids are part of a wider joint investigation involving Europol and included simultaneous measures against the group in Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.