A Catholic nun was arrested by Italian police on Thursday for delivering messages for the mafia to prisoners, police said in a press release.
Anna Donelli's sister acted several times as an intermediary between the Mafia and prisoners, according to Italian news media. The criminal organization used “support from trusted and unsuspecting people,” said the police statementand she urged the nun to “take advantage of the spiritual work” in which she had free access to the prison and prisoners to deliver the messages.
The Public Prosecutor's Office in Brescia began an extensive investigation in September 2020 that led to the arrest of Donelli and 24 others. The police also arrested on Thursday residents in the areas of Brescia, Milan, Reggio Calabria, Como, Lecco, Varese, Viterbo, and in Spain.
During the massive campaign the police seized assets of more than 1,800,000 euros and arrested two politicians. Police did not release the names of the politicians but said the arrests showed the continuing ties between the powerful mafia and elected officials.
Police said the suspects were involved in mafia activities such as extortion, arms and drug trade, receiving stolen goods, usury and political-mafia electoral exchanges. Suspects were linked to a criminal association of 'ndrangheta origin, originally from Sant'Eufemia d'Aspromonte (RC), which was based for years in the Brescia region and then linked to the “Alvaro” group.
Italian authorities have been working to crack down on mafia activity for decades – very often to scratch the surface of the seemingly unstoppable flow of mafia activity within the country. Last year Italian courts convicted 207 people and sentenced them to a combined 2,100 years in prison on charges related to their membership in Italy. 'ndrangheta organized crime syndicate.
In March Italy decided expansion of a controversial program to remove children from their mafia families to break the cycle of criminal behavior down to new generations.
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