Sky News Investigates: How to fight the mafia

[Music] this is Mafia land is this an area in southern Italy home to one of the world's most powerful Clans the underanguta so who's brave enough to take them on [Music] in San Luca police station the faces of Mafia catches are displayed like trophies mug shots of villains they've convicted from henchmen to head honchos are these are these people dangerous this is the top ups are they dangerous fiorentino and his small team know every detail of these criminals lives so does this mean uh for homicide yeah for murder so he was caught for murder here they don't just arrested mafia members they also live among them um [Music] this little Southern town is in drangetta 's part of a pie they first made their money in the 1970s and 80s they hid wealthy kidnap victims in the surrounding mountains until their ransoms were paid that cash later bought them entry into cocaine trafficking local Blood Ties kept people loyal fear kept them quiet so the commanders just told me a really interesting story about this road sign you can see the bullet holes in it and apparently every year on New Year's Eve the mafia used to go up and shoot at it to show people that they controlled this area and the streets are eerily quiet people deliberately avoid our cameras silence is a code here the andrangate is one of the most powerful crime syndicates on the planet people have been killed for speaking out against them this police chief gunned down at 25 for challenging them foreign began in Calabria in southern Italy in the 18th century by the early 1990s cocaine had become a drug of the masses and the main focus of their business foreign links with South American cartels allowed them to control 80 percent of Europe's cocaine trade they've now spread to every continent in the world and have an estimated annual turnover of 60 billion euros [Music] a McKelly knows these mafios will do anything to protect that cash what kinds of things have you found hidden in the houses of this town the commander says they found money machine guns and drugs stashed in San Lucas streets the town has also harbored fugitives including and drangetta boss Giuseppe giorgi after 26 years on the Run he was found hiding in the walls of a local house foreign [Music] to stay one step ahead of the mafia they have a secret weapon a room packed with details about the criminal Network surrounding us the information's so sensitive we aren't allowed to show you but maps and family trees help them track every known drangata member in the area this room is really the War Room of this little police station at the center of the fight against this huge mafia they know who's related to who where people live they even know where they hold their secret ceremonies and they aren't working alone I've come up to nearby platy to meet Chief Luigi de Joya the commander of another team on the front line of this fight how important is this town to the andrangater um if San Luca is the underangeter's back Garden platy is the heart of the home the bins bear the names of famous mafia families we're deep in their territory and I have a strong feeling we're being watched I let the kids are back up there they're watching more and more more the commander explains locals and mopeds are often used as Mafia Lookouts so he's just told me that the restaurant that we're coming up to here is where the underangeta stay and and watch so they're watching the police and I don't know if you can see but also up and down on the bridge more and more children on bikes have been coming past you know they look teenagers but the police say they're also spies on the lookout the whole time pachado can switches and it seems they're not the only ones are you watching us what are you looking at the commander asks these men so they're watching too everyone's watching just like San Luca many have chosen their side and it's not with the police and the wariness in this neighborhood is no surprise this house was the site of a major raid on the indrangeta they're saying that um one of the mafia top bosses was in these houses and they were caught by the police but they were actually found in bunkers broken windows show where specially trained Mafia Hunters smash through the glass of this hideout the commander explains officers Soren and drangetta henchmen push a switch here he then tried to stop the police as at least two fugitive bosses ran into the next room but when officers came through here the men had disappeared this is where they'd gone oh wow hidden behind a trap door in the step police found a secret tunnel to three Escape Routes under the town is [Music] [Music] more than 30 different bunkers have been found in the area some high-tech layers others just Holes in the Floor in this one they found Santo vitari one of Europe's most dangerous fugitives this gangster was linked to a feud which sparked a massacre in Germany to hide a Mafia Boss it takes a community find one well that takes a hunter an elite unit of the carabinieri their job is to track the indrangeta they must know the paths and trails that cross this Heartland better than their target they must always be one step ahead how difficult is your job it's challenging because it requires a very deep knowledge of the terrain because the mountain s are very commercial this team has helped get hundreds of criminals off the streets yet the indrangetta remains one of the richest and most powerful gangs in the world fighting this Mafia is a massive job it's not just about catch catch criminals it's about changing a mindset and releasing whole communities from Decades of control foreign [Music] [Music] Gordo her dad Francesco was working as a binman when he and a colleague were gunned down with a Kalashnikov she was 11 at the time The andrangata Wanted control of the city's waste disposal contract so murdered them to send a message foreign foreign had to then raise three young daughters alone how did she cope how did your family cope is no [Music] foreign the place where he was shot she said after his murder people stood up to the mafia Mall 30 years on the city is the base for the biggest trial of drangata members in Italian History hundreds of defendants in court on challenges including murder drug trafficking and intimidation inside this heavily armored police Convoy is the lawyer at the heart of the case this is Nicola grateri Mafia prosecutor and one of Italy's most targeted men he is never alone wherever he goes his security detail goes too it's been this way for more than 30 years ever since he started investigating the mafia he's dedicated his life to Bringing Down the underangeta and paid with his freedom it's quite a lot having the protection officers all the time do you find it a lot do you find it intense [Music] conductor [Music] um the 24 7 security is necessary Turf grateri's fellow prosecutors were blown up by the Sicilian mob in the 90s shortly before this the andrangater shot at his house they told his fiancee he was a dead man from that day he's reportedly needed more protection than Italy's Prime Minister foreign his office Auntie Matthew work yeah he strikes me as very relaxed for a man who survived numerous assassination plots is your blood Bulletproof but in truth his enemy has endless resources and as we head towards the court where he's waged his latest battle against them I'm aware of the huge risk he faces I think it's really important to remember that despite all the security nothing can be a hundred percent foolproof and the prosecutor knows that this is the most vulnerable part of his journey we're asked to stop recording until we're safely on the road the route is swept by police ahead of us every vehicle in the Convoy is armored and has bulletproof glass one of these cars has a Jammer to stop bombs being activated the prosecutor explains the threat has increased since the start of the mafia Maxi trial the case against more than 300 alleged and drangetta collaborators is being held here in a specially reinforced bunker courtroom this is probably the most secure courtroom in the world [Music] on the huge TV screens we can see defendants in their prison cells the prosecutor has asked for a combined sentence of more than 4 000 years in jail do you think you can win this can you beat indrangetta can you Dent them at least and as we return to the bulletproof Convoy it's clear how high a price the prosecutor has paid for a battle he may not win he can only see his kids for 30 minutes every two months he can never really retire he will never be safe I can't help thinking just how much he's sacrificed for this fight the holidays miss the christenings the weddings he can't just go and pop and see his kids if he wants to he's almost given up his own freedom but that's the price he's willing to pay to try to take down the most powerful Mafia in but none of this is enough if Italy is to release these communities from the grip of the untrangeta it needs a revolution widespread political legal and social change so it can finally free itself and the world from the influence of the mob

Channel: Sky News

Views: 35,215

Keywords: Sky News, News, Italy, Mafia, Ndrangheta, crime, True crime, mafia lawyer, police, drugs, Europe news, who are the biggest mafia, who are the biggest crime groups

Id: UzNA3Nt3lUE

Length: 19min 32sec (1172 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 18 2023