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Italy Busts Mafia-Linked Antiquities Rings in Calabria and Sicily

Prosecutors describe an organized pipeline linked to the Arena clan that moved thousands of artifacts toward domestic and foreign buyers.

Overview

  • Authorities executed 56 precautionary measures, with 11 in Calabria and 45 in Sicily that included arrests, house arrests, residency obligations, reporting requirements, and a business suspension.
  • Investigators in Sicily seized more than 10,000 artifacts, including about 7,000 ancient coins, with an estimated total value of roughly €17 million.
  • The Sicilian probe documented at least 76 illegal excavations and identified a laboratory allegedly used to produce forged artifacts.
  • Catanzaro prosecutors allege involvement by the 'Ndrangheta’s Arena clan, applying the mafia-aggravated association charge to the Calabria suspects.
  • Some items were allegedly trafficked abroad to Germany and the United Kingdom, and the owner of an auction house was suspended from commercial activity.