Police in southern Italy on Monday arrested 24 suspected members of the Naples mafia or Camorra's Lo Russo clan for alleged drug trafficking, attempted murder, extortion and illegal possession of weapons of war.
The suspects were arrested during an operation in the Lo Russo clan's stronghold of north Naples, police said.
The arrests followed a probe by Naples anti-mafia prosecutors that uncovered the clan's criminal activities, its leaders, its drug-pushing network and extortion racket against building firms, investigators said.
The judicial probe also highlighted the Lo Russo clan's monopoly over bread distribution Naples, where it controlled the sale of bread to supermarkets, shops and street vendors, even setting its price.
Bread was being sold at 1.5-2 euros per kilogramme, while wheat was being bought from growers for just 18 euro cents per kilogramme, according to Italian farmers association Coldiretti.
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