Suspected ‘Ndrangheta member arrested in Switzerland

The arrest operation involved cantonal and federal police forces Keystone / Urs Flueeler

A suspected member of the 'Ndrangheta mafia organisation has been arrested in the Swiss town of Wetzikon after four years on the run from the Italian authorities.

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The suspect is now awaiting extradition to Italy, according to Zurich cantonal police.

+ Swiss strategy to tackle organised crime

An arrest warrant was issued for the man in southern Italy in 2022 because of his alleged role in a criminal Mafia organisation. Months later, he also came under suspicion of international drug trafficking, according to the Italian news agency Adnkronos.

The search led Italian authorities to Switzerland. Surveillance measures and cross-border observations located the suspect in Wetzikon, where he was arrested in a residential building. The Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) also participated in the operation.

+ Switzerland, an unsuspected hub for international cocaine trafficking

This is unlikely to be an isolated case. Europol estimates the number of criminal organisations in Europe at more than 800 – including several in Switzerland.

“While Switzerland has largely been spared from open violence so far, there is a close network of organised crime in Switzerland, some of which involves extremely violent structures,” Fedpol told Keystone-SDA.

New federal crime strategy

The spectrum ranges from Italian mafia groups to criminals from the Balkans that control parts of the local drug market, Turkish-origin groups that are particularly dominant in the illegal gambling market and organisations from Asia that are primarily involved in human trafficking.

According to Fedpol, other groups involved in drug and human trafficking include those from West Africa and the Caribbean, as well as groups from France and gangs of thieves from Romania.

Switzerland is also affected by newly emerging phenomena such as the so-called ‘Mocro Mafia’ from the Netherlands and Belgium, which supplies cocaine and blows up ATMs.

Just last December, the Federal Council approved a new strategy for combating organised crime. The Federal Council stated that Switzerland, with its central location in Europe and its prosperity, is attractive to criminal organisations.

Adapted from German by AI/mga

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