'Ndrangheta
The 'Ndrangheta (/(əndræŋˈɡɛtə)/, Italian: [nˈdraŋɡeta], Calabrian: [(ɳ)ˈɖɽaɲɟɪta]) is an Italian Mafia-type association based in the peninsular region of Calabria and dating back to the 19th century. Although loosely structured, it is considered one of the most powerful organized crime groups in the world. It is characterized by a horizontal structure made up of autonomous clans known as 'ndrine, based almost exclusively on blood ties. Since the 1950s, following wide-scale emigration from Calabria, 'Ndrangheta clans dispersed to other European countries, Australia and the Americas. Currently, its main activity is drug trafficking, but it also deals with human trafficking, sex trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering, racketeering, extortion, and loan sharking.
| Founding location | Calabria, Italy |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1860–present |
| Territory | Territories with established coordination structures with significant operational territorial control are in Calabria, Northern Italy and Lazio. Organisational coordination structures also exist in Australia and Canada. The 'Ndrangheta also operates in other countries with varying degrees of presence. |
| Ethnicity | Calabrians |
| Membership (est.) | 6,000-10,000 Made members 60,000 affiliates |
| Criminal activities | Racketeering, human trafficking, sex trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, loan-sharking, money laundering, fraud, extortion, murder, robbery and kidnapping |
It is capable of influencing local and national politics and infiltrating sectors of the legal economy in Italy and some other countries. In 2013 they purportedly made €53 billion, according to a study from Demoskopika Research Institute. A US diplomat estimated that the organization's drug trafficking, extortion and money laundering activities accounted for at least three percent of Italy's GDP in 2010. The 'Ndrangheta has existed for as long as the better-known Sicilian Cosa Nostra, but was only designated as a Mafia-type association in 2010, under Article 416 bis of the Italian penal code. Italy's highest court of last resort, the Supreme Court of Cassation, had ruled similarly on 30 March 2010.