More than 100 suspected members of a Mafia clan based in the Eastern Sicilian city of Catania were arrested today on charges of running extortion rackets and drug trafficking, police said.

A statement from the paramilitary Carabinieri police said the operation had dismantled the Laudani family with arrests in Sicily, mainland Italy, and abroad.

Those arrested included women who police said had taken the reins of the organisation after their men were arrested, establishing a fund to help families of clan members in prison.

The operation was still in progress and more details would be announced later, police said

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