Italian prosecutors break up Chinese transport mafia

MILAN (AP) — Anti-mafia prosecutors in Italy say they have broken up a Chinese organized crime ring that used money from criminal activities to force their way into the transport sector, not only in Italy but elsewhere in Europe.

Top anti-Mafia prosecutor Federico Cafiero de Raho said Thursday in Florence that the organization used mafia methods, including intimidation, extortion and violence. More than 50 people were under investigation, most in the Tuscan city of Prato, which is a key center of Chinese business in Italy. Arrest warrants have been issued for 33 people.

The prosecutor said the organization earned cash from drug trafficking, gambling and prostitution, which they used to muscle into transportation companies, controlling the movement of Chinese-made goods in much of Europe. The criminal components hail from the Chinese provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian.

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