Rome, 9 October (AKI) - The Italian government has seized suspected mafia assets worth more than 5.3 billion euros and has arrested eight mafia suspects per day since it look office in May last year, interior minister Roberto Maroni said on Friday. He claimed these figures and the government's takeover of 12 local councils allegedly infiltrated by the mafia showed its unparalleled success in fighting organised crime.

"The mafia assets we have seized can be used in the ongoing fight against the mafia," Maroni told journalists after a cabinet meeting.

Presenting a progress report on the government's anti-mafia drive, Maroni said: "Eight mafia suspects have been arrested every day since we took office."

Maroni also noted that the current government had commandeered 12 local councils allegedly infiltrated by the mafia, compared with the eight councils taken over by Italy's previous centre-left government during its first 15 months in power.

"These are unprecedented results," Maroni said.

The ongoing anti-mafia campaign has rattled the mafia, and the Berlusconi government is moving to protect individuals deemed to be at high risk of mafia reprisals, he stated.

"Threats are arriving from the mafia against individuals whose work puts them most at risk. We are monitoring these and will continue to deal with them because we want to win the war against the mafia, not just a few battles."

As recently as Thursday, the president of the anti-mafia commission in Italy's southern Campania region, Luciano Passariello, said he had received a bullet through the post.

Maroni said the government aims to defeat the mafia, which has had a grip on Italy for decades.

Italy's mafia organisations are the Camorra in the Naples region, the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria, and the Sacra Corona Unita in Puglia. There is evidence two most dangerous - the Camorra and the 'Ndrangheta - have infiltrated most sectors of the economy.