20 Facts About 'Ndrangheta

1.

The 'Ndrangheta is the only one of the Italian mafia-type organizations to have maintained its ancient rites, passing them down orally and through secret codes.

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2.

The 'Ndrangheta has enjoyed, for decades, a privileged relationship with the main South American cartels, which consider it the most reliable European partner.

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3.

Until 1975, the 'Ndrangheta restricted their Italian operations to Calabria, mainly involved in extortion and blackmail.

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4.

Since 30 March 2010, the 'Ndrangheta has been considered an organisation of mafia-type association according to 416 bis under the Italian penal code.

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5.

On 12 December 2017,48 members of 'Ndrangheta were arrested for mafia association, extortion, criminal damage, fraudulent transferral of assets and illegal possession of firearms.

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6.

The 'Ndrangheta has a strong grip on the economy and governance in Calabria.

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7.

Basic local organizational unit of the 'Ndrangheta is called a locale with jurisdiction over an entire town or an area in a large urban center.

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8.

The next level, separated by the 'ndrina but part of 'Ndrangheta, is known as santista and higher still is the vangelista, upon which the up-and-coming gangster has to swear their dedication to a life of crime on the Bible.

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9.

The Quintino, called Padrino, is the second-highest level of command in a 'Ndrangheta clan, being made up of five privileged members of the crime family who report directly to the boss, the capobastone.

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10.

Unlike the Sicilian Mafia, the 'Ndrangheta managed to maintain a horizontal organizational structure up to the early 1990s, avoiding the establishment of a formal superordinate body.

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11.

New investigation, known as Operation Crimine, which ended in July 2010 with an arrest of 305 'Ndrangheta members revealed that the 'Ndrangheta was extremely "hierarchical, united and pyramidal, " and not just clan-based as previously believed, as said by Italy's chief anti-mafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso.

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12.

At least since the 1950s, the chiefs of the 'Ndrangheta locali have met regularly near the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi in the municipality of San Luca during the September Feast.

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13.

Business volume of the 'Ndrangheta is estimated at almost € 44 billion in 2007, approximately 2.

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14.

The Argentinian police said the 'Ndrangheta had roots in the country and shipped cocaine through Spain to Milan and Turin.

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15.

In 2008, the 'Ndrangheta were tied to the importation of 15 million ecstasy pills to Melbourne, at the time the world's largest ecstasy haul.

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16.

Several important 'Ndrangheta bosses were arrested in Brazil, such as Domenico Pelle, Nicola Assisi and Rocco Morabito.

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17.

Canadian 'Ndrangheta is believed to be involved in various activities including the smuggling of unlicensed tobacco products through ties with criminal elements in cross-border Native American tribes.

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18.

In March 2018, during the resultant criminal trial north of Toronto, the court heard from a Carabinieri lieutenant-colonel that 'Ndrangheta is active in Germany, Australia and the Greater Toronto Area.

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19.

At the sentencing, the presiding judge made this comment: "Based on the evidence at trial, Giuseppe Ursino is a high-ranking member of the 'Ndrangheta who orchestrated criminal conduct and then stepped back to lessen his potential implication".

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20.

The most represented 'Ndrangheta family originated from the city of San Luca, with some 200 members in Germany.

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