Italian Mafia Roundup

(Naples, Italy) According to Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu, arrest warrants were issued for 65 Mafia suspects and, subsequently, hundreds of police officers arrested 53 in a massive sweep.

"Last night's operation in Naples is an authentic hammer blow to the Camorra," Mr. Pisanu said, adding that it was part of a broader government plan to "uproot" the Camorra from the city, where 23 people have been killed in Mafia-related violence in the past month alone.

Backed by helicopters, hundreds of officers from the paramilitary Carabinieri force, customs police and state police moved into outlying areas of the southern port city in the early hours of the morning.

The police concentrated their search operation in the down-at-heel Scampia and Secondigliano areas of the city which have long been known to be in the grip of Mafia clans.

The police actions were taken to try and stop the killing in a turf war that has claimed 120 lives thus far. Additionally, millions of euros of contraband were found and confiscated.