ROME (Reuters) - Around 130 people were arrested on Tuesday in a large-scale sting against the Sicilian mafia in Palermo, indicating that it has remained a significant criminal force despite setbacks in recent decades.
"Cosa Nostra", the mafia syndicate based in and around Palermo, terrorised Italy in the 1980s and 1990s, but has since been overtaken as Europe's most powerful mob by the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta.
The suspects apprehended on Tuesday were charged with various crimes, including drug trafficking, attempted murder, extortion, illegal online gambling and illegal possession of firearms, Carabinieri police said in a statement.
Additional arrest warrants were issued for 33 suspects who were already in prison for other crimes.
Investigations revealed that Palermo's mafia families coordinate their activities across the city and its province, like they used to in the golden days of Cosa Nostra, especially as regards drug trafficking, police said.
They said inner city families had regained authority compared to the years in which they were dominated by a faction from Corleone - a town outside Palermo that was the birthplace of notorious bosses Toto Riina and Bernardo Provenzano.
Modern-day bosses use modern technology to conduct their business, using encrypted mobile phones that are smuggled into prisons to allow jailed bosses to continue exercising their command, investigators said.
Despite being weakened by law enforcement activities, Cosa Nostra continues to attract young people, the Carabinieri said, noting they documented one instance of a new recruit given "mafia lessons" by an older associate.
The would-be mentor gave the young men "specific instructions, inviting him to take as an example his conduct towards people to be subjected to extortion, and advising him on how to relate with mafia leaders," the police statement said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, writing on X, hailed Tuesday's arrests as inflicting "a very hard blow to Cosa Nostra", and giving a clear signal that "the fight against the mafia has not stopped and will not stop".
(Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri and Alvise Armellini, editing by Ed Osmond)
