A Mafia clan linked to six blood feud murders is being investigated for the alleging trafficking of nuclear waste and plutonium production, reports claim.
Two members of the 'Ndrangheta mafia, a Calabrian clan, are accused of shipping radioactive waste to Somalia, along with eight former employees of state energy research agency Enea, the Guardian reports.
Francesco Basentini, a magistrate from the southern town of Potenza, is investigating claims that the mob men were paid off by the Enea staff, taking shipments of waste from the agency's centre in Rotondella, Basilicata, in the 1980s and 1990s.
The allegations were made by a 'Ndrangheta turncoat, who claims an Enea manager paid the two clan members to dispose of some 600 drums of nuclear waste, with 500 shipped to Somalia and 100 buried in Basilicata (the 'Ndrangheta being unwilling to bury the waste in Calabria due to "love of their home region").
An anonymous Enea manager denied the turncoat's allegations, saying: "Enea has always worked within the rules and under strict national and international supervision."
The 'Ndrangheta clan are accused of exploiting links with Colombia to become Europe's biggest cocaine importer, while the August shooting of six Italians in Germany has been linked to a blood feud with a rival clan from San Luca, Calabria.
Nicola Gratteri, the magistrate investigating the murders, argued that nuclear waste disposal and even the production of plutonium would not be an unlikely activity for the 'Ndrangheta, the Guardian quoted him as saying.
"The 'Ndrangheta has no morals and, if there is money in an activity, it will have no problem getting involved, even nuclear waste," he said.
However, he complained the European police forces had a lax attitude to clans like the 'Ndrangheta or the Sicilian Cosa Nostra.
"The mafias were the first to take advantage of Europe's disappearing frontiers," he said, "but when I go to Germany I see they have not introduced the crime of mafia association and do not allow wire taps in public places.
"I'm tired of round tables and conventions; what we need is more courage," he added.
Two members of the 'Ndrangheta mafia, a Calabrian clan, are accused of shipping radioactive waste to Somalia, along with eight former employees of state energy research agency Enea, the Guardian reports.
Francesco Basentini, a magistrate from the southern town of Potenza, is investigating claims that the mob men were paid off by the Enea staff, taking shipments of waste from the agency's centre in Rotondella, Basilicata, in the 1980s and 1990s.
The allegations were made by a 'Ndrangheta turncoat, who claims an Enea manager paid the two clan members to dispose of some 600 drums of nuclear waste, with 500 shipped to Somalia and 100 buried in Basilicata (the 'Ndrangheta being unwilling to bury the waste in Calabria due to "love of their home region").
An anonymous Enea manager denied the turncoat's allegations, saying: "Enea has always worked within the rules and under strict national and international supervision."
The 'Ndrangheta clan are accused of exploiting links with Colombia to become Europe's biggest cocaine importer, while the August shooting of six Italians in Germany has been linked to a blood feud with a rival clan from San Luca, Calabria.
Nicola Gratteri, the magistrate investigating the murders, argued that nuclear waste disposal and even the production of plutonium would not be an unlikely activity for the 'Ndrangheta, the Guardian quoted him as saying.
"The 'Ndrangheta has no morals and, if there is money in an activity, it will have no problem getting involved, even nuclear waste," he said.
However, he complained the European police forces had a lax attitude to clans like the 'Ndrangheta or the Sicilian Cosa Nostra.
"The mafias were the first to take advantage of Europe's disappearing frontiers," he said, "but when I go to Germany I see they have not introduced the crime of mafia association and do not allow wire taps in public places.
"I'm tired of round tables and conventions; what we need is more courage," he added.
Source: inthenews.co.uk
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