Italy struggles to combat mafia hold on smuggling and soccer

Over three kilometres long (two miles), the quay is lined by 22 towering cranes, and stacks of containers that occupy 38 square kilometers of land (15 square miles). Positioned half-way between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, ships from every continent arrive day and night. In this immense space, the 'Ndrangheta operate, smuggling cocaine. Their preferred method is to leave just a few bags of cocaine near the containers for their 'bag men' to pick up - finding the bags is a mammoth task."(The mafia drug smugglers) identify the (ships) that will be en route to the harbour ofGioia Tauro or to other European harbours to use their containers as 'Trojan horses' where they will place bags (full of cocaine) that other members of the organization will then retrieve and smuggle" Colonel Claudio Petrozziello, the Commander of the Finance Police in the Reggio Calabria province, told Reuters.

But magistrates and law enforcement - in particular finance police in tandem with customs authorities - are now putting unprecedented pressure on the 'Ndrangheta clans. During the first 10 months of 2012, seizures of cocaine at Gioia had already doubled to more than two tonnes from 2011.

Customs agents use dogs that can sniff out the drug and have giant X-ray scanners that allow them to peek inside containers without unpacking them. But despite these procedures a lot of the drugs still get through.

At 40-45 kilos each, bags carrying the drugs are light enough to be lifted by one man and can easily be put into shipments in a Central or South American port without the knowledge of the export-and-import companies. This enables the 'Ndrangheta's bag man - probably a port employee - to remove the cocaine quickly and then reseal the container without leaving a trace.

Each bag is worth as much as 2.25 million euros wholesale, and about 9 million euros on the street.

Whilst most people could see the connection between a port and the mafia, not many think of the tight link between 'Ndrangheta clans and soccer teams. The disturbing link between mafia and soccer is a growing phenomenon and several cases have been discovered by investigators throughout Italy in recent years. The clubs can be useful to the clans for many reasons. They are a vehicle to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking or extortion, and they give a crucial lift to a crime boss's prestige in the community.

In the Pope John Paul II stadium in Rosarno a handful of young boys pass the ball around as the nineteen and twenty-year-old players trickle onto the field. A semi-professional team had played in the stadium dedicated to the Polish pope until the spring of 2010, when a Calabrian court took over its management because it was controlled by the mafia. A year later the squad became the first in the country's history to be confiscated from the mob. The team has now dissolved because no local businessmen dared stand up against the will of the criminal clan to sponsor it, and no public funds were made available.

The pictures of the Rosarno soccer team's glory days are on display at the stadium and show the former captain and star player, the son of the former team president, who is now in prison for being a front man for the Pesce 'Ndrangheta clan.

"Soccer for these boys is everything. We have about 25 or 30 players in our team, many more if we include all the soccer schools and the small amateur teams" said Agostino Orlando, Sports Director of the "Nuovo Rosarnese", the new amateur team that is starting from scratch.

"Soccer in Rosarno is everything" he said.

There are some success stories. Quarto, north of Naples, is a city of more than 40,000 people that has long been the territory of a clan based in a neighbouring city. Here, too, the local soccer team was taken from the mob and put under court management. But unlike in Rosarno, the "New Quarto Soccer Team for Legality" has found backing in the community and the administrators are confident that it will make it through this season. Two local parish priests have thrown their support behind the team, one of the court administrators, Luigi Cuomo, is the top local official in SOS Impresa, an anti-mafia group sponsored by retail lobby Confesercenti.

"We want to be an example, demonstrate that you can manage a team and lead it to win without giving in to criminal organizations" Como said talking to Reuters on their soccer pitch.

Local businesses and even individuals have provided financial support, raising the almost 200,000 euros needed to finish the season through donations as small as 10 euros, and maximum sponsorships of 5,000 euros. The team refused to accept larger sponsorships to prevent it from being influenced by anyone who wants them to tone down the team's anti-mafia mission.

Fighting the mafia is in the electoral speeches of all the candidates running for the February 24-25 parliamentary elections. Speaking about it is one thing but really making life difficult for the mob will be a completely different matter.