A nun is among 24 people arrested in northern Italy in connection with a mafia investigation, Italian police said.
The nun, named in the Italian press as Sister Anna Donelli, was arrested on charges of acting as an intermediary for the ‘Ndrangheta mafia and its jailed gang members.
Police arrested two politicians and seized assets worth €1.8m (£1.5m) in raids across several towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions and in southern Calabria.
It is the result of a four-year investigation into the ‘Ndrangheta, one of Europe’s most influential and dangerous criminal organizations.
The statements, released by a coalition of law enforcement agencies, followed stinging allegations that the nuns had leveraged their position as volunteers at the prison.
The Brescia carabinieri said he was a suspect whose religious role allowed him “free access to penal facilities”.
Police statements did not identify the politicians or others targeted in the investigation.
The operation continues with hundreds of police officers searching across northern Italy.
Police said they will be assisted by sniffer dog units that look for weapons and drugs and “cash dogs” trained to find cash.
Investigators allege the group primarily used scrap metal trade businesses as a front to launder money, totaling €12 million in laundered cash, prosecutors said.
Originating in the impoverished region of Calabria, the ‘Ndrangheta is one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the world.
In November last year, more than 200 people were sentenced to a total of more than 2,200 years in prison. One of Italy’s biggest mafia trials in generations.
