Italian police arrested 181 people today in a major operation against the Sicilian mafia Cosa Nostra in the Palermo area, world agencies reported, quoted by BTA.
According to Reuters, this shows that the Sicilian mafia organization remains a significant criminal group despite its temporary decline in recent decades.
Cosa Nostra, based in Palermo and the surrounding area, terrorized Italy in the 1980s and 1990s, but has since been overtaken as the most powerful mafia organization in Europe by the Calabrian mafia 'Ndrangheta.
Against the Cosa Nostra members detained today have been charged with various crimes, including drug trafficking, attempted murder, extortion, illegal online gambling and illegal possession of firearms, the Italian Carabinieri said in a statement.
Additional arrest warrants have also been issued for 33 other suspects already in prison for other crimes.
According to police, investigations have revealed that the Palermo mafia families are coordinating their activities throughout the city and the countryside as they did during the golden years of Cosa Nostra, especially with regard to drug trafficking. They say the city's families have regained power compared to the years when they were dominated by a single family clan from Corleone, a town near Palermo that is the birthplace of notorious mafia bosses Toto Riina and Bernardo Provenzano.
Although weakened by law enforcement, Cosa Nostra continues to attract young people, the Carabinieri added, citing a case of a new recruit who received "lessons in running mafia affairs" from an older colleague.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed today's arrests, noting on the social media platform "Ex" that they had dealt "a very heavy blow to Cosa Nostra" and had sent a clear signal that "the fight against the mafia has not stopped and will not stop".