Italy launches Mafia crackdown

Italian police issued more than 100 arrest warrants in a crackdown against suspected Mafiosi in Naples yesterday, detaining dozens, including three men suspected of one of the region's bloodiest shootings.

Police said several suspected high-ranking members of the Casalesi clan were held in the pre-dawn raids, including Giuseppina Nappa, the wife of Francesco Schiavone - who investigators believe is running the group from jail.

Authorities took control of buildings and seized business activities worth €100 million.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni described the operation against the Casalesi as memorable. The Casalesi is regarded as a main player in the Camorra - Naples' version of the Sicilian Mafia.

"We have dealt a very big blow to the Casalesi clan," he told a news conference in Rome.

Of the arrest warrants issued, 76 were served on suspects already being held in jail on other charges. At least five are still at large.