Messina Mafia clans were hit by 33
arrests on Friday, police said.
Some 21 were taken to prison, 10 placed under house arrest, and
the remaining two ordered to report to police regularly.
They were charged with mafia association, extortion, fraudulent
transfer of assets, kidnapping, vote buying, grievous bodily
harm, possessing and carrying illegal weapons, and drug
trafficking.
The police probe found that a recently released boss, in prison
for 13 years, Giovanni Lo Duca, had taken back control of his
clan in the eastern Sicilian port city.
It also found that the Messina bosses held summits in a billiard
hall.
Another arrested boss, Salvatore Sparacio, received some 10,000
euros from local politician Natalino Summa ahead of municipal
elections in June 2018.
Police said they had found evidence that Cosa Nostra was
returning to the lucrative drugs business.
Among the clans' other activities, police said, was running
protection rackets on nightclubs and discos at the heart of the
Messina nightlife scene.
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