How the Italian mafia ‘took over’ a quiet UK town and transformed it into the ‘Surrey Sopranos’ – before a daring bank robbery brought them down

THE ITALIAN Mafia took over a quiet UK town and turned it into the “Surrey Sopranos”, until a daring bank robbery thwarted their plans.

Woking, in north-west Surrey, was a hotbed of crime and mafia behaviour in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

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But people living in present-day Woking say the town has developed since the NatWest disputes.

A drinker at Herbert Wells Wetherspoon told The Sun: “We were neighbours in Cedar Road with some Italians.

“There was a raid there in the 80s. It was above the NatWest bank and apparently they (the gangsters) kept their money there.

“Margaret Thatcher was in power at the time and she apparently wanted them all to disappear.

“I don’t know anything about the modern mafia. Woking has changed a lot and is a commuter town. It’s not what it used to be.

“But yes, there are a lot of Italians here and yes, I have seen the criminal side with my own eyes.”

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, added: “There was definitely a mafia group in Woking in the 80s and 90s.”

He refused to elaborate further on the stories he had with the mafia.

Another man said the communities of Sicilian monsters were concentrated around the Horsall Road and Cedar Road areas of Surrey city.

Lee Burnham, 71, a lifelong resident of Woking, told reporters over a Guinness that he had underworld connections.

He told The Sun he was friends with a gangster he played with on an Italian football team.

He said: “He upset someone in Woking, someone quite big. I don’t know what it was about.

“Anyway, he got caught, we go back to the 80s and he took responsibility.

“He was imprisoned and I never saw him again. To this day I have no idea what happened to him.”

The Sicilian population of Woking owes its existence partly to a large prisoner of war camp at nearby Send.

Margaret Thatcher was in power at the time and apparently she wanted to get rid of them all.

After the war many settled in Woking and started families there.

Luca, owner of the Italian Good restaurant in Woking, is originally from Sicily.

He said, “I’ve heard stories. They’re even my customers!

“I’m from Sicily. Cosa Nostra is from Sicily. There are a lot of Sicilians in Woking.”

‘God’s banker’

THE discovery of Roberto Calvi, 62, hanging under Blackfriars Bridge in London in 1982 sent a signal that the Mafia was present.

Calvi, who was known as ‘God’s banker’ because he handled the Pope’s money, is said to have lost large sums of money to a Sicilian gangster.

Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley said: “The Mafia said, ‘Wherever you go, we’ll find you.'”

Many historians suspect that hitman Francesco Di Carlo was responsible for Calvi’s murder, but no one has ever been found guilty of the crime.

The killer, also known as Frankie the Strangler, helped transport heroin and cannabis under the guise of his antiques business.

Di Carlo lived in a country house in the Surrey stock exchange town of Woking, drove a Ferrari and ran a number of businesses, including a hotel and a travel agency.

In 1985, his operation was smashed by British customs and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

He died in 2020 and still denies committing Calvi’s murder.

Ross Kemp discovered that organized criminals from Italy have had ties to this country for a century.

And he believes they are still active here today, perhaps more strongly than ever before.

Speaking in Sky History series Ross Kemp: Mafia And Britain, which starts on Tuesday, the former EastEnders actor said: “They’re still there, no doubt about it.

“They are everywhere. They operate in a very different way than they did in the 1920s or the 1980s.

“The most successful ones are the ones you never hear about.”

The web of crime that leads back to these shores takes Ross to Colombia, the US, Spain and southern Italy.

Experts believe Britain is attractive to the mafia because it is the largest cocaine market in Europe and has lax policies on money laundering.

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