Latest news with #AndreaOlivadese
AsiaOne
05-08-2025
- AsiaOne
Italy arrests 13 people in nationwide raids against Chinese mafia groups, World News
ROME — Italian police arrested 13 people following a nationwide sweep against Chinese mafia groups, on charges including involvement in crimes such as drug dealing, sex trafficking and aggravated robbery, they said on Monday (Aug 4). Raids were conducted in 25 provinces, including Milan, Rome, Florence, Prato and Catania, anti-organised crime police official Andrea Olivadese said. Police reported a further 31 people to judicial authorities without arresting them, and seized 550 grams (1.2 pounds) or around 5,500 doses of "shabu" crystal methamphetamines, and checked hundreds of shops and vehicles. The gangs' crimes tend to exclusively target fellow Chinese, and, like traditional mafias, they "resort to intimidation and/or violence to achieve their goals" and seek to dominate the territory where they operate, police said. The Chinese mob groups operate "with a deeply rooted concept of revenge that can take the form of a feud," they added. In April, a senior figure in the Chinese underworld and a companion were shot dead in Rome, in what police suspected was part of a turf war within Chinese criminal networks in Italy. Chinese gangs use the informal Hawala payment system to transfer money, and are "in constant dialogue" with other criminal organisations in Italy to share business and zones of influence, police said. The gang members tend to hail from the same region in China and have a stronger foothold in parts of Italy with more Chinese residents, such as Tuscany, police noted. Prato, a Tuscan city famous for its textile industry and its large Chinese community, has a long-running problem with labour exploitation, particularly among undocumented immigrants. The arrests announced on Monday follow separate investigations exposing alleged worker abuse among Italian but Chinese-owned workshops in the supply chain of luxury brands such as Valentino, Giorgio Armani and Loro Piana. [[nid:720264]]
ABC News
04-08-2025
- ABC News
Italy's crackdown on Chinese mafia as one city engulfed in fast fashion war
Italian police arrested 13 people following a nationwide sweep against Chinese mafia groups on Monday, as violence between competing families turned deadly. The arrests included charges such as drug dealing, sex trafficking and aggravated robbery, police said. Raids took place in 25 provinces, including Milan, Rome, Florence, Prato and Catania, anti-organised crime police official Andrea Olivadese said. A further 31 people were reported by police to judicial authorities, although they were not arrested. Around 550 grams or 5,500 doses of "shabu" crystal methamphetamines were also seized. The gangs' crimes tend to target fellow Chinese, and, like traditional mafias, they "resort to intimidation and/or violence to achieve their goals" and seek to dominate the territory where they operate, police said. The Chinese mob groups operate "with a deeply rooted concept of revenge that can take the form of a feud," they added. The rise of the Chinese mafia in Italy has been particularly felt in the Tuscan city of Prato, where various groups are warring for control of Europe's largest apparel manufacturing centre. The gangs are battling to control the production of hundreds of millions of clothes hangers each year — the market is estimated to be worth 100 million euros ($178 million) — and the bigger prize of transporting apparel. The ex-head of Prato's police investigative unit, Francesco Nannucci, said the Chinese mafia run betting dens, prostitution and drugs — and provide their Italian counterparts with under-the-radar money transfers. For mafia leaders, "to be able to command in Prato means being able to lead in much of Europe," Mr Nannucci told AFP. The battle for the city has turned deadly, with one Prato mafia associate shot dead in April while walking the streets of Rome. With one of Europe's largest Chinese communities, the city of nearly 200,000 people has seen Chinese business owners and factory workers beaten or threatened in recent months, with cars and warehouses burned. The situation has become so urgent that Prato's prosecutor, Luca Tescaroli, has appealed to Rome for help, calling for an anti-mafia division and reinforcements for judges and police. The arrests announced on Monday follow separate investigations exposing alleged worker abuse in Italy's Chinese-owned workshops in the supply chain of luxury brands such as Valentino, Giorgio Armani and Loro Piana. Prato's 5,000-odd apparel and knitwear businesses, mostly small, Chinese-run subcontractors, churn out low-priced items that end up in shops across Europe. They pop up quickly and shut down just as fast, playing a cat-and-mouse game with authorities to avoid taxes or fines. Fabric is smuggled from China, evading customs duties and taxes, while profits are returned to China via illegal money transfers, police say. To stay competitive, the sector relies on cheap, around-the-clock labour, mostly from China and Pakistan, which Mr Tescaroli told a Senate committee in January was "essential for its proper functioning". Reuters/AFP
News18
04-08-2025
- News18
Italy Arrests 13 People In Nationwide Raids Against Chinese Mafia Groups China Vs Italy
Italian police arrested 13 people following a nationwide sweep against Chinese mafia groups, on charges including involvement in crimes such as drug dealing, sex trafficking and aggravated robbery, they said on were conducted in 25 provinces, including Milan, Rome, Florence, Prato and Catania, anti-organised crime police official Andrea Olivadese said. News18 Mobile App -
Epoch Times
04-08-2025
- Epoch Times
Italian Police Arrest 13 In Nationwide Crackdown on Chinese Mafia Groups
Italian police arrested 13 people in a nationwide sweep against Chinese organized crime groups, striking what authorities called a 'double blow' to criminal networks accused of drug trafficking, labor and sex exploitation, and money laundering. Multiple coordinated operations conducted across a total of 25 provinces, including Milan, Rome, Florence, Prato, and Catania, targeted Chinese mafia clans operating with mafia‑style intimidation and territorial control, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry and remarks by anti-organized crime police official Andrea Olivadese.
Daily Maverick
04-08-2025
- Daily Maverick
Italy arrests 13 people in nationwide raids against Chinese mafia groups
Italian police arrested 13 people following a nationwide sweep against Chinese mafia groups, on charges including involvement in crimes such as drug dealing, sex trafficking and aggravated robbery, they said on Monday. Raids were conducted in 25 provinces, including Milan, Rome, Florence, Prato and Catania, anti-organised crime police official Andrea Olivadese said. Police reported a further 31 people to judicial authorities without arresting them, and seized 550 grams (1.2 pounds) or around 5,500 doses of 'shabu' crystal methamphetamines, and checked hundreds of shops and vehicles. The gangs' crimes tend to exclusively target fellow Chinese, and, like traditional mafias, they 'resort to intimidation and/or violence to achieve their goals' and seek to dominate the territory where they operate, police said. The Chinese mob groups operate 'with a deeply rooted concept of revenge that can take the form of a feud,' they added. In April, a senior figure in the Chinese underworld and a companion were shot dead in Rome, in what police suspected was part of a turf war within Chinese criminal networks in Italy. Chinese gangs use the informal Hawala payment system to transfer money, and are 'in constant dialogue' with other criminal organisations in Italy to share business and zones of influence, police said. The gang members tend to hail from the same region in China and have a stronger foothold in parts of Italy with more Chinese residents, such as Tuscany, police noted. Prato, a Tuscan city famous for its textile industry and its large Chinese community, has a long-running problem with labour exploitation, particularly among undocumented immigrants. The arrests announced on Monday follow separate investigations exposing alleged worker abuse among Italian but Chinese-owned workshops in the supply chain of luxury brands such as Valentino, Giorgio Armani and Loro Piana.
