Italian police nab three suspects in killing of Africans

Sep 30, 2008, 8:33 GMT

Rome - Italian police arrested Tuesday three mafia suspects linked to the killing of six African immigrants near Naples on September 19, news reports said.

Police surprised the three - all wanted members of the Casalesi crime family of the Neapolitan mafia, the Camorra - in their hideout, a small villa near Licola, a north-western suburb of Naples.

Police also seized two Kalashnikov assault rifles and two pistols which may have been used to gun down the Africans who were killed in nearby Castel Volturno, the reports say.

The arrests follow a massive manhunt involving more than 400 extra police launched in the aftermath of the killings of the Africans - three men from Ghana, two from Liberia and one from Togo.

Last week police arrested another Camorra suspect in connection with the killings of the Africans who were gunned down shortly after an Italian casino owner was shot dead. Investigators believe the same Camorra hitmen carried out both attacks.

Also early on Tuesday morning, in a separate operation, police arrested more than 20 suspected members of the Casalesi clan and seized over 100 million euros (144 million dollars) in Camorra assets.

Among those arrested is the wife of a notorious jailed Camorra boss, Francesco Schiavone.

The woman, 48-year-old Giuseppina Nappa, was picked up on charges of receiving on behalf of her husband the monthly 'income' the Camorra pays out to its members from its drug trafficking and extortion activities.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni hailed both operations as a major victory against the Camorra which he recently said was waging a 'civil war' against the Italian state.

'We will keep on the pressure until this war is won,' Maroni said in a morning television interview.

Italy's conservative government last week approved the deployment of 500 soldiers to assist police operating in the Camorra's heartland including Naples and surrounding areas.