Catholic nun arrested by Italian police for passing mafia messages to prisoners

A Catholic nun was arrested by Italian police on Thursday for passing messages intended for the mafia to prisoners, police said in a statement.

Sister Anna Donelli repeatedly served as an intermediary between the mafia and prisoners, according to Italian media. The criminal group resorted to “the support of trusted and unsuspected people”. the police statement saidand persuaded the nun to take advantage of “the spiritual mission” in which she had free access to the prison and inmates to deliver the messages.

The Brescia public prosecutor's office opened a wide-ranging investigation in September 2020 which led to the arrest of Donelli and 24 other people. Police also arrested residents of the provinces of Brescia, Milan, Reggio Calabria, Como, Lecco, Varese, Viterbo and Spain on Thursday.

During this massive operation, police seized property worth more than 1,800,000 euros and arrested two politicians. Police did not release the names of the politicians, but said their arrests demonstrated continuing ties between the powerful mafia and elected officials.

Police said the suspects engaged in mafia activities such as extortion, arms and drug trafficking, receiving stolen goods, usury and political-mafia electoral trading. The suspects were linked to a criminal association of 'ndrangheta origin, originating from Sant'Eufemia d'Aspromonte (RC), based for years in the province of Brescia and later linked to the “Alvaro” gang.

Italian authorities have been working to crack down on mafia activity for decades — often to barely scratch the surface of the seemingly endless flow of mafia activity within the country. Last year, Italian courts convicted 207 people and sentenced them to a total of 2,100 years in prison on charges related to their membership in the Italian military. Organized crime syndicate 'ndrangheta.

In March, Italy decided to expand a controversial program remove children from their mafia families to break the cycle of criminal behavior passed down to new generations.