Mafia boss arrested in Apulia

Authorities of the Italian region of Apulia informed about the detention of one of the most powerful mafia bosses in the region - Francesco Campana.

38-year Campana was arrested in a small town of Oria near Brindisi in the south-east of Italy.

Campana has already served 9-year sentence in jail for connection with the Sacra Corona Unita - Mafia faction in Apulia.

As noted in the Italian press Campana did not resisted the arrest. This allowed the Minister of Internal Affairs of Italy announce about the breakthrough in the fight against one of the most powerful mafia groups in southern Italy.

According to a police spokesman in the Apulia region, Francesco Bamaba, Campana was one of the most dangerous and influential criminals. He was at the very top in the hierarchy of the Sacra Corona Unita.

Campana’s arrest was a continuation of a large-scale police operation against the Mafia, which began in Apulia in December 2010. Then in total were detained 12 people belonging to the top of Sacra Corona Unita.

Currently, Sacra Corona Unita stands along with such gangs as Sicilian Mafia, Ndrangeta in Calabria and the Neapolitan Camorra. Main areas of activity of Sacra Corona Unita are cigarette smuggling, export of illegal migrants from Eastern Europe and human trafficking.

Despite the numerous arrests of several gang leaders, Italian government's efforts in the fight against the Mafia do not allow the Italian society to get rid of the high level of criminalization. To date, only Ndrangeta’s turnover is estimated at two Calabrian GDPs. For example, last week as a result of a police operation from Ndrangeta were seized $300 million.

Campana was on the run for several years. And, according to the police data, during this time he never left Apulia.