Women arrested in Mafia swoop

Last updated at 14:56 13 July 2004


Police in Sicily have arrested 23 people suspected of Mafia crimes, including two women accused of heading the clan in the city of Trapani.

The overnight swoop around the port in the north-west of the island followed a two-year investigation, police said. They used sophisticated bugging devices to gather information.

The two women, both wives of known Mafiosi, headed a sort of "management board" that ran a network of extortion rackets, police said.

One of the women arrested is accused of being in charge of liaising with jailed Mafia bosses during prison visits, exchanging information by means of secret codes such as underlined letters on labels of bottles of water.

Interior Ministry undersecretary Antonio d' Ali praised the police blitz, codenamed Tempest, as "another positive result" against organised crime in the Trapani region: "But let us not delude ourselves that we have resolved the problems of Mafia and extorsion, particularly in this zone," he added.

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