Italian police arrest more than 30 in raids targeting the Mafia

Italian police have arrested more than 30 people suspected of being members of the Mafia or their accomplices in a series of nationwide raids.

The Carabinieri’s early morning raids targeted a Cosa Nostra gang, police in Catania said on Wednesday.

Some 250 police officers were involved in the operation.

Those arrested were suspected members of a Mafia organisation involved in extortion, drug trafficking and illegal weapons possession.

The police also arrested one of the bosses of the Santapaola-Ercolano clan.

The officers further seized items worth more than 4 million euros (3.8 million dollars).