Mafia trial: How the 'Ndrangheta has established itself in NRW
Status: 03.02.2025, 14:19
Since Monday, eight alleged "'Ndrangheta" members have been on trial in Düsseldorf. How is the mafia positioned in NRW?
By Andreas Poulakos
Regular border traffic with a built-in drug stash under the back seat: eight Germans are said to have organized the smuggling of almost 900 kilograms of cocaine on behalf of the Italian mafia. Since this Monday, they have had to answer for their actions in the high-security wing of the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf .
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How exactly does the Italian mafia work in NRW ? What crimes are its members involved in? And how do the police and the judiciary take action against the criminal networks? Questions and answers.
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Which mafia groups are active in NRW?
According to the North Rhine-Westphalia State Criminal Police Office (LKA), Italian mafia organizations are among the most dangerous and best organized structures of organized crime in Germany. According to investigators' findings, the mafia group 'Ndrangheta, which originally comes from Calabria, is particularly present in North Rhine-Westphalia . According to the LKA, other groups such as the Camorra and the Cosa Nostra play a minor role in comparison.
According to the LKA, North Rhine-Westphalia serves the 'Ndrangheta as a base, retreat and hub for illegal business - especially for concealing income from the trade in cocaine and other drugs.
Sandro Mattioli]
While the State Criminal Police Office assumes that there are a low three-digit number of 'Ndrangheta members in NRW , Sandro Mattioli from the "mafianeindanke" association refers to findings from the Italian public prosecutor's office. According to this, there are around 60 "local associations" of the ' Ndrangheta in Germany , each of which has more than 50 members. If this is true, the number of members of the Calabrian mafia in NRW is likely to be much higher than previously known.
What business is the 'Ndrangheta involved in?
In addition to international drug trafficking, the ' Ndrangheta has also been attracting increasing attention for years through its activities in the area of ??economic crime. The operation of numerous " legal facades " such as restaurants or other medium-sized companies is said to facilitate money laundering on a large scale.
The Federal Ministry of Finance states: " The criminals use business areas with a difficult-to-understand flow of money in order to record the illegal income as 'real' sales." Betting shops and restaurants, for example, are suitable for this. The laundered money can then be used in normal commercial transactions.
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In 2023, according to the current "Situation Report on Organized Crime" of the LKA in NRW, four "Italian-dominated groups" were investigated for drug trafficking, which were proven to have links to the 'Ndrangheta and Camorra . In the area of ??economic crime, the investigators also uncovered a criminal " sales tax carousel " in the European motor vehicle trade. They also investigated suspected Mafiosi for billing fraud by operating fictitious corona test centers.
How do the authorities take action against the criminal networks?
The ' Ndrangheta came into the public spotlight in Germany primarily as a result of the so-called Duisburg Mafia murders in 2007. As a result of a dispute between two rival family clans, six people were shot at close range in front of an Italian restaurant in August of that year. The perpetrators were later brought to trial in Italy and sentenced to long prison terms.
As a result, the authorities increased the pressure and in particular sought closer international cooperation in the pursuit of mafia networks. The number of investigators was greatly increased, and the authorities also increasingly relied on wiretapping measures and undercover investigators.
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Are there any successful investigations?
As a result of the intensive investigations, the police carried out a number of spectacular raids in the following years. For example, at the end of 2018, there were searches and arrests in several European countries as part of the "Pollino" operation. Suspected 'Ndrangheta members in Duisburg, Wesseling and Pulheim also came under the investigators' scrutiny. Starting in 2020, 14 men were initially brought to trial on various charges and some of them have already been convicted. The trial is not yet complete.
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In May 2023, searches and arrests were carried out in ten European countries as part of Operation Eureka. In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, there were operations in Siegen, Wuppertal, Essen, Dortmund and Bonn. The current trial before the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court is just one of several proceedings that were only made possible as a result of Eureka.
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What problems are there in law enforcement?
Although Germany is probably the most important location in Europe for the Italian mafia after Italy, the justice system is often powerless against mafiosi, said expert Mattioli in an interview with WDR on Monday . " They can largely remain quiet here as long as they are not guilty of violent crimes ."
Unlike in Italy, mere membership in a mafia organization is usually not enough to lead to a conviction. As a rule, the perpetrators only become dangerous if the investigators can prove that they have committed a specific crime. However, this is often difficult, not least because only a few suspects cooperate with the authorities. Confiscating the profits from criminal activities is also easier in Italy than here.
