Italian police, FBI arrest 26 suspects in joint anti-mafia operation

Italian police and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Tuesday arrested 26 people in a joint anti-mafia operation. The operation was carried out by hundreds of policemen in the two countries, according to local media. A total of 40 people were reportedly put under investigation. The arrested people included members of the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate and of families in the United States, all suspected of being involved in international drug trafficking activities. The aim of the suspects was opening up a new cocaine route from South America to Europe via the port of Gioia Tauro, in Italy's southern Calabria region. The alleged head of one of the most influential'Ndrangheta clan, Francesco Ursino, was among those arrested in Italy. Suspects detained in the United States included alleged members of Gambino family, one of New York's main mafia families of Italian origin.