The Italian mafia is widespread in Switzerland – much more than previously assumed. This is shown by previously unpublished data from the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), in the the «Aargauer Zeitung» Had insight.
The mafiosi have not only settled in the canton of Ticino, as previously thought, but are spread all over Switzerland. The area around Lake Zurich is particularly attractive. Various mafia activities have been recorded here by the Fedpol in recent years.
Sergio Mastroianni, a federal prosecutor who specializes in combating mafia, even thinks that the phenomenon is particularly widespread in German-speaking Switzerland. On a Mafia card, Ticino would be red, German-speaking Switzerland would be “deep red”.
‘Ndrangheta is also in Switzerland
More and more evidence shows that the Mafiosi in Switzerland are not just hiding in the underground. They also do not shy away from acts of violence. A triple murder in Basel in 1992 was classified as a relationship offense upon completion of the investigation. New evidence has now emerged. The suspicion: The alleged relationship crime was a bloody settlement between two Mafia groups.
The ‘Ndrangheta organization, which is classified as dangerous, has also settled in Switzerland. In 2014, the federal police filmed several ‘Ndrangheta mafiosi at a secret meeting in Frauenfeld TG. The meeting was disguised as a boccia event.
Authorities underestimated the Mafia
The mafiosi are shrewd and use supposedly inconspicuous buildings for meetings. A restaurant in Muri AG is said to have been infiltrated by mafiosi and converted into a hub between the various branches. The tracks also lead to various companies in the area. There was a major raid, as Blick revealed last year.
For a long time, the authorities did not realize how powerful the Mafia is in Switzerland. As recently as 2014, the former federal prosecutor Michael Lauber said: “Switzerland is not a mafia-like country”. It was only this autumn that the Federal Council admitted for the first time that the presence and activities of Mafia organizations in Switzerland had “been underestimated in recent decades”.
Tougher legal remedies required
The head of Fedpol also found clear words at an event in the summer: “We have a real problem that we can only solve with more national and international cooperation,” said Nicoletta della Valle.
The authorities are very late with this assessment. Because the mafia expert Zora Hauser said last year to Blick: “Switzerland underestimated the mafia.”
A visit by Blick to the notorious Scampia district in Naples last year also showed how some settlements in Italy still serve as breeding grounds for young mafiosi. The criminal organizations are not running out of henchmen – not even in Switzerland.
A stricter penal norm for criminal organizations is intended to remedy this. This has been in force in Switzerland since July of this year. Anyone who is one of the leaders in a criminal organization has to be behind bars for up to 20 years. It’s been five years so far.
For many politicians and criminal prosecutors, this does not go far enough. The «AZ» said the Ticino National Councilor Marco Romano (38) that «naivety» had to give way to an «offensive to fight the mafia». And the Ticino lawyer Rosa Maria Cappa says that tougher legal remedies are needed: “Only with the confiscation of assets do we really hurt the mafia.” (zis)