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The Sicilian Carabinieri have uncovered a Cosa Nostra mafia network in the province of Agrigento involved in the extortion of wine growers. Operation "Condor" led to the arrest of ten people. The clan members did not even pay the winegrowers the production costs of the grapes in order to resell them afterwards for three times the price. The consumer protection organisation Codacons Sicilia and the anti-mafia association "Cittadini senza paura contro tutte le mafie" said that the mafia had been controlling the sale of grapes for years. The largest Italian farmers' association Coldiretti also warns against the criminalisation of agriculture by mafia structures. It destroys the free market and oppresses honest farmers. The Italian Agromafia Observatory estimates the clans' profits at more than 24.5 billion euros annually.
The mafia not only seizes large sectors of the agri-food industry and the profits made from it, taking advantage of the crisis caused by the pandemic and the energy crisis. It also affects the quality and safety of products, which indirectly has the effect of seriously damaging the image of Italian products and the value of the "Made in Italy" brand. The criminals are accused of theft of agricultural equipment and means, extortion, damage to crops, usury, illegal slaughtering, as well as fraud against the European Union, up to and including control of entire supermarket and restaurant chains.
(ru / Source: Coldiretti, Photo: 123rf.com)