the impact was the biggest change doesn't happen the make up your own mind. may the europe in the fight against the mafia. the police are stepping up efforts to combat the collab ran into and get the efforts november 2023, the mafia. investigation committee in the syringe and state parliament summoned unimportant witness. a form, a judge from the district court was called to testify about his friendship with an

italian restaurant and now in the 2 thousands, the 2 was so close that the judge was not only a regular customer, but also the restroom, says legal advisor. today, more than 20 years later, the judge sees nothing reprehensible about that. it was who who just the home, the site to friendship. he explains to the committee. only his friend was considered by the gym and federal police to be a member of the in try and get to the dangerous criminal organization from calabria . the same in that and get to that was being investigated by a special committee of inquiry for the 1st time and jim and parliamentary history. politicians were committed to shedding lights on the global mafia organization, but it faced obstacles. expedited sources and the same wonderful skiing sun documents and it ends cuz we regularly come up against the restriction of the state board is not we can only deal with matters that are in some way related to through india. of course this excludes operations that are not directly related to through

india. when would it be on state who it is? we can only add limited pieces of the puzzle coming down and one was everything to push them to push the tiles on open. so for me, let's get them to myself that we're dealing with them off your organization that's on pricing worldwide. it's not limited to you or full gemini. it's about worldwide operation licensed by the looks up by the prototype, just as police investigate does come up against state board is for example, kind of we in the committee of inquiry on limited to the against the 1st click. we can only ever and cover a fraction of all the entanglements of this complex mafia organization. this makes it difficult for us to assess things past certain points optic and actually see the big picture. yeah. quick 1st question is to the operation fee to the federal criminal police conduct to germany's 1st major investigation into the mafia. they targeted 7 italians suspect to deforming local, and i can get to group an effort and believes to be responsible for the mfc as

money laundering operations during the feeder operation, the federal police. so b k, a chief, something once thought impossible. 5 on the come to investigate has infiltrate typically the attorney and cut up in yet he would amazed but suddenly came to a halt. putney choose a cumbersome requests for mutual legal assistance with italy and apparently because of sensitivities in the syringe and public prosecute his office. the committee of inquiry tried to find out why several requests the mutual legal assistance between gemini initially formed the basis of co operation in the fight against the mafia, which is active on a global scale. see, to was quietly terminated in 2002 and 4 years later, the proceedings were officially closed. put in sign in or par. uh, we'd have to use seats in all bought as the lease forces. and the judiciary in europe have made significant advances here. and what this has partly to do with the wealth of the experience,

a crew during the crack down on organized crime in the 1990s in early 2, thousands european authorities such as europe hole, for example, and euro just on the judicial side put in place processes that enabled direct cooperation which makes necessary rapid operational cooperation possible. this can happen via european investigation orders where criminal procedural measures of other countries can be carried out in germany and vice versa. schwab which is law in march or we're joint investigation. teams are partnered with other countries because organized crime is never regional combines on between scope and it's certainly not just about the individual state or germany as a whole. that you know, it's usually at least at the european level. and often even the global level. because everything is tightly networked, especially regarding the flow of money from the criminal structures and clientele. and that's where with international cooperation, we've made

a big step forward. adults in feel i'm following causes. the bottom of the flat fee to was just the beginning. an inability to act meant the mafia became rooted in effort, but the information gathered by the federal police and the syringe and state police office at the time will be decisive. 20 years later, as we'll see, operations to 10 but otherwise can do nothing. but this information proved important. it was the only way operations da could show how the end did. i get to what able to establish themselves that, that k, if it doesn't have to be fine, we must fulton the in this investigation, thanks to our use of the legislation and therefore the tools of cooperation. we were able to identify a large number of members of the input on utah from it to you at all in the province of cro, tony who had been based in germany for years and what a definitely got to you, don. me said anything your mind?

yeah. it could be of the, of all, and they have a stablished themselves. they are mainly in the commercial and wine sector, and that's a political message obviously, until the beginning when the supplementing fully during this phase, we did not see any particularly violent behavior on german territory. but we were able to identify consolidated investments in the food and wine trait which had existed in germany for years and said, what are the loudest thoughts you on the commission for levine, equally one, toddler. ok, don and your, my it on all the collaboration allowed us to identify a in that and get the structure that had been in place for several years. chuckling cynthia, which was a remarkable results to put any of that on get off and just out of the c r u k. everything was here, as i've always looked at the way they can't get off into the fight against the mafia. always depends on the commitment of individual investigators, as the said and the largest operation against the input. i get that to date also

showed operation fully. no police offices from 4 countries took action against the mafia. that targets plans from san lucas. the calabria in village also paid a central road in the cedar operation. 14 men were arrested in germany alone. this time it was about international cocaine trafficking from south america through european ports. 4 tons of cocaine were confiscated. and once again, the trail led back to efforts the fight against the and drank it to became a joint endeavor. a joint investigation team for it was set top which allowed information to flow faster and more directly the store it, he's involved could sit together at one table fully no marks, a turning point in european police look in germany. this of course, was in the state of north rine west failure. there might have been since he could,

we now understand how our italian colleagues work, and in particular we become closer collaborators. it started with the deuced board motors and then continued through various operations such as pulling on it's, it's very important to understand the legal system of our italian colleagues. and to incorporate the knowledge that are a time colleagues have accrued about all kinds of mafia structures into our work. and so i think that will lead to success. and it's meant for a 2nd key to success late in the hague, in the netherlands home to the european police will still receive your result. sykes, to its help pulling the, was the 1st internationally coordinated operation against the in that and get to law enforcement agencies from so real countries came together to fight an international criminal syndicates on an international level. we have to do with what we have and for sure, i'm a strong believer in the fact that this corporation that this international cooperation, which we all doing every day here,

is really the future of producing a thing that you cannot walk in. these are nation uh you have 2 of your, the law enforcement agencies working at very low quarter level in the communities and so on. but it's uh you have to have also some the fall sees to go for international incorporation and to see the, the issues the 2 of the cream, you know, issues from a global, domestic to you. and this is what the said, john, see your phone is doing every day since 2020 a trial has been ongoing in the so called tablet bunk of the to so to of higher regional codes, this is explicitly a say a trial, something the public prosecutor's office attaches great importance to 14 men has been charged. most of them with mafia connections of whom 5 are alleged in that i

get to see the trial takes time and does a massive undertaking for the public. prosecute his office, the translation of autonomy and documents alone has cost 2500000 euros. so far, the legal file is 400000 pages long. it's quite the challenge for the defense lawyers to the i'll pull blame a, these are 5. and those might of which in my view, the main problems with these proceedings or the defendants are brought together, who simply shouldn't be together in the dark. if the 2 sports public prosecutors offers hadn't stubbornly fixated on the idea of mafia and co, we would have been through with a whole case long ago. with such quantities of cocaine involved, there would be heavy prison sentences either way. house call the idea of criminal organization in the mafia. persecution then would no longer play such a decisive role in the sentencing call from us. but that's exactly the point. judges are usually reluctant to charge someone under section $1.00 to $9.00,

which talk it's organized, crime and jim and rule. because it's often difficult to prove the penalties a comparatively low lowest ones on does he turn 60 italian law enforcement authorities of all to have their difficulties in putting together mafia structures and describing them, especially from a judicial point of view. it's now been around 10 years since the 1st sentences of the highest courts in italy, established that the in drawing get to even exist details here too. it's been a long journey and we are currently in the process of exchanging views on this in order to present it, to the german judiciary accordingly, to present to you authoration platinum. the proceedings are conducted in buttons, looking back and 2 in again, it's involved cocaine trafficking and comes from san luca again with connections to syringe here. this time the allegations with money laundering on tax evasion or something. yeah. does or does the faith of appeal and the way it work was that the

criminal group, which the italian investigating authorities are tribute to the in the wrong. utah in organized crime group in italy, sold food to retailers without an invoice, sometimes telling them you which organization they belong to, and where they came from the cold. and the sales tax that was due was listed on invoices of the retailers, but never pay like, you know, the state of these dr. field tax evasion and money laundering other main ways in which the fios in germany attract attention to themselves. the trial for international drug trafficking took place in italy. the med smuggled the drugs from south america via the netherlands, belgium, and the poets of humbug to calabria. but the trial and constance was special for another reason. for the 1st time in the gym and justice system, the and drank it to what directly named in a verdict, the mafia has been active in gemini for more than 60 years. finally, this legal proof, thanks to a public prosecutor's office, and the court recognized its importance. he did not get out and install the new

guys to the end that i don't get to have a history long as of which means there's a traditional system of values enormously that are practiced in germany and detectable images of the field. now it's easier for the german law enforcement authorities to name the in drawing gets us specifically a new man. all we need is a judicial decision that being drawn get to exist. some people who you so far, there's only the 34 page verdict from the constance district court from i'm there still needs to be progress and ensuring the judiciary names them directly. students which would allow the in drunk. it has to be targeted by law enforcement authorities. if they suspect their involvement of a full studies in front of that is still service, he's was struggling with about civil society. how can it be mobilized to fight the mafia if nobody can see the criminal organization every year? the 70 in green policy organizes and information day and effort. coinciding with the committee of inquiry experts, one to show how the and try and get to operate and how they have successfully

infiltrated and continue to infiltrate. jim and society disguised as nice restroom says or close friends of magistrates is mike with triple d. is he a to spread awareness most fema mafia exploration. mon, you have to talk about the mafia. you have to build an anti mafia culture mask. the mafia has shown itself in germany and it's important for the population, especially young people to recognize the mafia in order to better flight attendant . only the best such will become germany as a mafia country, but many to see it deals ortiz investigation. see chris and the general public isn't tim foamed people onto way one way to change that she's by teaching school children to learn how organized crime is attacking the economy and democracy. but he had to courageous people that needed to take this on in the police, the public prosecutor's office, or among teachers. to see my mouse here,

we actually deal with the topic of the mafia and cos in italian lessons. and it's specifically in the curriculum on the i because this now effect around region away from italy and suddenly in germany. and of course it's a topic that we have to talk about just simply create awareness. and that's why i want to inform myself so that i could in turn in for my students for me, and on the day off to the info day. in october 2023, a stones throw away from the venue in efforts the state police of north run west failure, searched an apartment with several, a tiny and so i registered once again and asked for an open ration gentleman, his joints, police operation in italy, and frank foot timeline showed that in blankets a clans was involved in the drug trade, despite the pressure to prosecute them. they probably relied on chinese groups for money transfers in deals that were arranged from frank foot. offices confiscated

goods with almost 4000000 euros. for 5 years frankfurt police have been investigating the suspected mfc, l z and their associates. they've picked up on money transfers in inconspicuous residential areas despite the previous quote, decisions and experience. international cooperation is once again proving challenging done. this is not to of course it's important to have a discourse with our italian colleagues, but the language barrier can be a challenge because not all officers of the italian police speak english about this . oh, this makes communication difficult. then there are other legal requirements that complicate matters to us in italy, proceedings are conducted exclusively by the public prosecutor's office, and the police can only work under their direction. so in germany, the public prosecutor's office is in charge of the proceedings,

but the work or the i ideas usually come from the police on another point, which is also very important is personnel voltage. but if you need the right personnel, both in terms of quantity and quality, and for that you need to have enough resources. the jim and police, but watching a meeting between suspected must be a bosses in a pizzeria. this time, many of the observations came from the gym and police not from italy, as is so often the case. together, they then reconstructed the money trail and drug roots of the suspected and drank a t c. and they found connections all the way to africa. did to matt from guinea, beside apparently smuggled drugs for the my fios the, they mentioned frank for that to arrange the deal and zone. i just emailed him because he didn't know school nearby. so does he's the son of a former president from guinea. besides, he became a diplomat for portugal and was also involved in international drug traffic interest shift heroin from afghanistan to america, and cocaine from south america to germany or europe,

dominican. i thought you meant to basically go to the world. so he was an international player, one might say, what is mustang? did that surprise you to such and such as of course we were surprised. yes, it's not an everyday occurrence, but of course it makes sense. if you look at the bigger picture, because i'm because diplomats aren't so closely monitored and they have completely different options available to them and completely different access. and these, i mentioned them on in google, in this audit. if you google this person, you'll see the family entanglement. this is the whole family, more or less was or is still involved in international drug traffic categories, which is not then that's not included under td operation. eureka police phone, either the welds to connection against the and try and get to it is the biggest on team i feel operation to date. have any um, 2 units coordinated in real time across 3 continents. comes from sun, luka way. yes. again, the target of the investigate is

a 100 and especially 2 arrests were made, including 25 men in gemini, the talk of somebody on the front as we didn't talk for him. most officer done been 6 and the other side woken up the day before at 8 am and worked for 36 hours straight. and so i remember that a very well it was interesting and a real highlight that we managed at that moment in time to conduct an operation all throughout the year. we can just in the end, it was reassuring that no colleagues were harmed. all of the suspects we detained were also brought in on harmed it's number 2, there were arrests and evidence was seized. isaac, which helps with the criminal proceedings if you don't have to. so we weren't just sitting here in dusseldorf working on our own case for the last, we knew that colleagues all over europe, we're working together in this sense of community was very satisfying on what does come on jessica, for the social instead of eating in germany alone 6 federal states were affected, 25 arrest warrants were executed. a joint investigation team was set up again at

the european level, subject to move symbols, haney, a slate in several countries. coordinated by you are a poll and you are just brazil and panama. we're also involved in gemini restaurants and ice cream. paula is with the main targets that the raids also an effort. since the beginning restaurants have served the and try and get to not only as a cover, but to buffle as a logistical base for criminal business. look on this, find this i look to solve for you to under to this is a table just motif is the north ryan west. amelia is a safe haven for the in wrong good to go. they want to bring money from drug trafficking into the world economy. but even more important than that is to establish a strategic base here. namely to be active in cities to hear what is happening. see, it's getting in touch with decision makers in the public administration of simulating with society, but also using these bases to accommodate people who are wanted by law enforcement agencies in italy, for example, under the constitution,

it's very important for them to bring a young into them get used in family members here to work and learn the language just and you can succeed internationally by just speaking your local dialect. i'm kind of content that's not their main task is to establish this young group, especially men throughout europe with language skills and education. so that they can later be present on the international drug market. it's not a whole system. it functions as a training location on look, you're not on this phone is on the whole speaking shuttle. an effort to restaurant here and there was also arrested his name had appeared in the feeder proceedings often more than 20 years. he finally ends up in hon costs. now he's accused of being involved in at least one cocaine deal to australia. he denies this, but he's restaurants remain open. officially the syringe, the a state police is only and only look at that to you. rico was also based on the findings. the syringes have been gathering since 1998 success had finally arrived. opiates, in directory and tried cooperation between the authorities is key yet regardless of

whether it gets only the german federal police or in this case that's a range of state office of criminal investigation. everything had to start all over again after feed or something because the relevance, the importance of the danger posed by organized crime, has grown considerably for everyone involved in all federal states. and this has also led to a new awareness. the, with the sign is or operation eureka has shown that the in that and get to have also been using high tech for a long time of the old bosses prefer to speak face to face. but calibri and my fios, he today use encrypted cell phones. the phones were considered top proof of what stops against us until the police hacked them to be able to have access to this that was exchanged by the criminal food. the son creeped in, networks of communication, whether it is on co chat sky,

you see all this is really cru. sure. in the last, just one, this done. how the, the, the biggest and the more down dress organized. one networks are working. why, when you of, or these that coming from encrypting networks of communication. you most of the time see the picture from the top? it's a top down approach. you have the biggest one, and you see we, which we do with the are in your nation. so it's far more easy to understand how it works. back in the syringe and state parliament. the questioning of the district judge headed off to dallas. he still saw no problem, neither with the fact he helped his attorney and friend know with advising his friends lawyer on how to avoid the ongoing investigation. he didn't find it

remarkable that his friend was convicted of drug possession and remains in contact with his friends family. to this day. the committee of inquiry must present a final report in 2024. he will have some holes in. it says the committee is limited to the syringe here. it's difficult to investigate a global murphy organization. there's nobody else pick the best ones as well. i think the way out would be to do with the, to the higher level the bonus. i actually think that the german federal government should be obliged to take a closer look at this form of organized crime. for example, with the committee of inquiry. ok. so it would probably even be advisable to go ahead and do this at the european level because of course many other countries are effective to, for example, portugal as well as easily or the netherlands definitely as well. and i think that if we really want to keep things up and deal with it, seriously, we have to go to the european union even though based on your despite major police

operations. despite all the success is the end that i can get to a still fall from being defeated. jim and louis and particular still make it easy for them to thrive. the fight against the mafia has only just begun the of the

field kind of a baby elephant isn't aggressive because she's clicking common rub up against you in touch here. that's how they bought the vehicle. if you knew anything, that's why i love this job. made it because i've got used to living with living. i'm surviving together. keith is at the rate tasty. elephant century has been rescuing little child. says she's yes. in 15 minutes on the w. they are the which is beautiful and all women volunteer unit that shoots down russian drones almost every night. they

are reaching for weapons. for many of them, it's the only way to protect their friends. because the end of the war looks very far away. the focus on is you read in 90 minutes on the w, the news. what cars highest have to do with the production. here's a hands on. it was really indeed much now on youtube. somewhere in the deserts between 2 nice

shapes. if these 2 have a whole list stick approach to migration policy rooted in that respect for human rights. our investigative research shows the reality behind the use refugee the what is happening to migraines on the african content? can you meet your thoughts, november 9th, the frankfurt, a hard international gateway to the best connection, south road and radio. located in the heart of europe, you are connected to the world experience outstanding shopping and dining offers. antonio's services be our guest at frankfurt. airport city managed by

frank bought the the you're watching dw news live from bullying. ukraine say is north korean troops are on the front line in rushes, cross grange and flooding me person isn't denying. got no korean troops could help russia in the world with ukraine. continuing to view with d, w white house spokesman john could be soon as they chose, the kremlin is quite desperate for manpower. also coming off, international donors played a $1000000000.00 and assistance for live and on, but there is no lights up in the fighting. as he's round carries out more and strikes against his belongings by ruth and german chancellor. old off schultz arrives in india, a k.