Police arrested more than 40 people, including 21 Albanians, in two separate clampdowns on drug trafficking in central and northern Italy, police said Tuesday.
The Albanians, along with 11 Italians and two people from unspecified North African countries, were being held on suspicion of drug trafficking, arms running and pimping in the Genoa region.
The women and the merchandise were said to have entered Italy from Albania. Money from the illegal activities was reinvested in building companies or the textile business, according to the police.
Investigators said police also busted a network of Albanian criminals and members of an Italian Mafia ring.
In the central Italian Molise region, police held seven drug traffickers, most of them Albanians.
Police also issued international arrest warrants for four other suspects believed to have smuggled hundreds of kilograms (pounds) of illegal substances from Albania since the start of the year -- ROME (AFP)
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