Italian police are carrying out a major operation in Milan this Monday, with dozens of arrests and searches among ultra supporters of the Inter and Milan football clubs, including their leaders, suspected of “criminal infiltration” , having ties to the mafia.
“Since the early hours of this morning, a vast operation by the State Police and the Financial Guard has been underway, coordinated by the Anti-Mafia Directorate of the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office,” the two police forces said in a joint statement.
Those arrested are suspected of “crimes of criminal association, with aggravation of the mafia method, in addition to extortion, injuries and other serious crimes”.
During the macro-operation in Milan, “with emphasis on the ‘directives’ of the organized supporters of the two Milan football teams”, the agents also executed other precautionary measures, search warrants and numerous searches.
Among those arrested is one of Inter’s main ultra leaders, Marco Ferdico, very close to Antonio Bellocco, murdered on September 4 by Andrea Beretta, head of the club’s “ultras”.
Luca Lucci, leader of the Milanese ultras, already convicted of drugs, was also arrested, as well as Christian Rosiello, bodyguard of the famous Italian rapper Fedez, according to local media.
“The suspects are almost all linked to ultra-supporters of the two main Milanese teams and the crimes are linked to the football business,” explains the note. There are a total of 19 precautionary measures, 16 in prison and 3 under house arrest.
The murder of Belloco
The police operation comes a few weeks after the assassination of Belloco, one of the most recognized figures of the radical group Inter and linked to the ‘Ndrangheta, the powerful Calabrian mafia, stabbed by Beretta after being shot.
Already at the time it was suspected that the fight between the two, fatal for Bellocco, could be linked to a much deeper conspiracy of illegal businesses which the Milan prosecutor’s office is currently investigating.
