Milan, 22 April (LaPresse) – A major operation is currently underway by the Provincial Command of Caltanissetta, involving around 200 Carabinieri, supported by dog units, the Cacciatori di Sicilia Squadron and the 9th Helicopter Unit, to execute a pre-trial detention order issued by the investigating magistrate at the Court of Caltanissetta against 35 individuals, of whom 32 are to be remanded in custody and 3 placed under house arrest, held responsible on various counts of mafia association, extortion, unfair competition and drug trafficking. The investigation gathered serious circumstantial evidence regarding the infiltration of the Niscemi mafia family into the sector of used vegetable oil collection. This sector was monopolised through the imposition of criminal agreements with colluding firms specialising in the sector, which have been placed under preventive seizure. The estimated economic value of the seized businesses amounts to over €6 million. The investigations also uncovered serious evidence of a complex criminal organisation dedicated to the trafficking of cocaine and marijuana, which imposed the granting of actual ‘authorisations’ for drug dealing within the Niscemi area in exchange for a financial contribution or the ‘provision of services’ to the mafia group: the investigation has documented over 200 instances of drug sales.