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Police launch coordinated raids on Italian mafia in Europe

Click to play video: 'European operation on organized crime leads to dozens arrested'
European operation on organized crime leads to dozens arrested
WATCH ABOVE: An operation against members of Italy's organized crime group resulted in dozens of arrests on Wednesday in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Belgium and South America – Dec 5, 2018

Authorities in Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands launched coordinated raids Wednesday in a crackdown on the Italian mafia.

The raids were the culmination of an investigation codenamed Pollino that was launched in 2016 against the ’Ndrangheta criminal group on allegations of cocaine trafficking, money laundering, bribery and violence, said Eurojust, the European agency that fights cross-border organized crime, which coordinated the operation.

WATCH BELOW: Italian police arrest mafia ‘boss of bosses’ in Sicily

Click to play video: 'Police in Italy arrest mafia’s new ‘boss of bosses’ in Sicily'
Police in Italy arrest mafia’s new ‘boss of bosses’ in Sicily

In Germany, federal police said there had been multiple arrests in the early morning raids on premises linked to the southern Italy-based organized crime group. The focus was on the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which borders the Netherlands and Belgium, and Bavaria to the south.

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Further details were not immediately available but Eurojust scheduled a news conference for later in the day in The Hague.

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