Italy opens largest mafia trial in decades against 'Ndrangheta mobsters

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00:00 This specially constructed high-security bunker in Calabria is so vast that scores of screens

00:05 were anchored to the ceiling so participants could view the proceedings within.

00:10 In its largest mafia trial in decades, Italy is expected to hand down hundreds of sentences

00:15 Monday, the culmination of a historic three-year trial against the notorious 'Ndrangheta mafia.

00:22 The proceedings revealed countless examples of the 'Ndrangheta's stranglehold over the

00:26 local population, including carrying out violent ambushes, shaking down business owners, stockpiling

00:32 weapons, and leaving dead dolphins on the doorsteps of people who opposed them.

00:37 "At a European and world level, it has repercussions because the 'Ndrangheta is one of the strongest

00:46 organizations in the world, able to manage the international traffic of narcotics as

00:51 well as many other activities, not only in Italy."

00:56 The verdicts could be the most significant blow to date against one of the world's most

01:00 powerful organized crime syndicates.

01:02 Nearly two million Calabrians live under the sway of the 150 clans that comprise the 'Ndrangheta.

01:08 The most powerful clan is headed by Luigi Mancuso, who was cut from the defendants list

01:13 last year to be tried separately.

01:15 He gained power through his role in the construction of the port of Gioia Toro, which is central

01:20 to the 'Ndrangheta's near monopoly on the European cocaine trade.

01:24 These operations against the 'Ndrangheta have taken place across Europe in the past

01:28 few years, aiming to break up their complex web of money laundering outlets, including

01:34 hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, and car dealerships.

01:38 Mafia experts estimate that the 'Ndrangheta bring in more than 50 billion euros annually

01:43 from drug trafficking, usury, siphoning public funds, and extortion.

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