Dozens of AC Milan and Inter Milan ‘ultras’ held in Italy over organized crime crimes

Rome, Oct 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) Dozens of “ultras” fans of football clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan were targeted in a major operation in Italy on Monday over alleged organized crime crimes, local authorities said.

In total, some 19 people were arrested and variously charged with involvement in organized crime, including extortion and assault “aggravated by mafia methods”, Milan prosecutors said.

Three people were placed under house arrest, while the others were taken to prison, Xinhua news agency reported.

The operation was ordered by Milan prosecutors in coordination with the local Anti-Mafia District Directorate and carried out by the Italian Financial Police and the Central Investigative Force (Sisco).

Investigators explained that both leaders of Inter’s extreme wings and Milan’s fan clubs (the so-called ultras) were among those arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy.

“The suspects took advantage of their role at the stadium and committed a series of football-related crimes aimed at amassing illegal profits,” police said in a statement.

At a press conference later in the day, Milan prosecutors explained that the operation would confirm existing links between the ultras of Italian football clubs (not limited to Inter and Milan) and organized crime syndicates.

In this specific case, the Inter and Milan ultras are said to have built ties with ‘Ndrangheta, the powerful mafia that has its roots in the southern region of Calabria and operates at national and global levels.

“Football clubs should be considered as injured parties in this case, according to our reconstruction,” Milan’s chief prosecutor Marcello Viola said at the news conference.

Official rivals, the ultras of the two football teams are said to have struck a “non-belligerent deal” aimed at keeping their illegal activities quiet, the chief prosecutor also told La Stampa newspaper on the sidelines.

In a statement, the AC Milan club said it was prepared to fully cooperate with the judicial authorities in the next phases of the investigation.

Source: IANS

About Gopi

Gopi Adusumilli is a programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and president of AGK Fire Inc.

He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authentic news sources.

When it comes to writing, he enjoys writing about current world politics and Indian films. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a news website that has no bias or judgment towards anyone.

He can be reached at [email protected]