The 'Ndrangheta of Italy

The 'Ndrangheta was known during the reign of the Bourbons of Naples. It has
6,000 members. In 1792, it was the first official statement in history on the 'Ndrangheta,
and an operation as "Royal Visitor" was entrusted to Giuseppe Maria Galanti. The main
distinction with the Mafia is in recruitment strategies. The 'ndrangheta recruits members
based on blood links, resulting in exceptional homogeneity within the familial group that
makes research difficult. Sons of 'ndranghetisti are expected to follow in their fathers'
paths and go through a grooming process as giovani d'onore before joining the ranks as
uomini d'onore. According to the Italian DIA and Guardia di Finanza, the "Ndrangheta is
currently one of the world's most powerful criminal groups." International cocaine and
weapons smuggling are among the 'Ndrangheta's economic operations, with Italian
authorities claiming that 80% of Europe's cocaine goes via the Calabrian port of Gioia
Tauro, which is controlled by the 'ndrangheta. The 'Ndrangheta has extended to
Northern Italy since the 1950s. Today, their activities span the world, reaching at least
31 different nations, making them considerably more powerful than the iconic Cosa
Nostra mafia while remaining remarkably unknown. According to the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime, approximately 10 times as much cocaine was captured in
Spain than in Italy in 2007. Ndrangheta and Sicilian Cosa Nostra gangs occasionally
collaborate in cocaine trafficking businesses. Other activities include skimming money
from huge public works building projects, money laundering, and classic crimes like as
usury and extortion. The 'Ndrangheta spends unlawful revenues in legitimate real estate
and banking ventures. Its major business is drug trafficking, which it nearly monopolizes
throughout Europe, but it also trades in arms trafficking, money laundering,
racketeering, extortion, loan sharking, and prostitution.