Italian police seize alleged mafia Calabria assets

Italian anti-mafia police on Wednesday seized a vacation residence complex worth 200 million euros (272 million U.S. dollars) allegedly connected to the local mafia in the southern region of Calabria, local media said. Five people, including local public officials, were reported to investigators for allegedly helping the business activities of Calabrian mafia, 'Ndrangheta, also violating the town-planning and landscape rules. The complex was located on the coast of Brancaleone, called the "city of the sea turtles" for its important role as a breeding ground for loggerhead turtles, who deposit their eggs along its beaches. 'Ndrangheta is widely regarded as the richest and most impenetrable sector of Italy's mafias. A recent study conducted by Italian experts revealed that the annual turnover for 'Ndrangheta in 2012 was the equivalent of 3.4 percent of Italian gross domestic product (GDP), or 53 billion euros (72 billion U.S. dollars).