TRUCKING & MAFIA * Italy - Takes Over Mafia-Run TNT Subcontractors

Justice Ministry to run six firms infiltrated by crime syndicate

Rome,Italy -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bruce Barnard -Apr 22, 2011: -- Italy's Justice Ministry took over the operation of six TNT Global Express subcontractors that have been infiltrated by a mafia organization...  The ministry said it will run the delivery companies in the Lombardy region surrounding Milan for an initial six months as it attempts to dismantle the crime network within TNT...  The Justice Ministry launched an investigation into TNT subcontractors after Italian and German police arrested 35 alleged member of the 'Ndrangheta, a crime syndicate based in southern Italy, in March...  TNT believed the subcontractors were independent companies, but they were a cover for organized crime. The couriers wore TNT uniforms and drove TNT badged vehicles...  The 'Ndrangheta, which is based in the province of Calabria, is estimated to have an income in excess of $50 billion and has spread into northern Italy in recent years...  The syndicate controls Gioia Tauro, the southern Italian transshipment port that handles over 3.5 million containers a year, according to a parliamentary report in 2008...

MAILS & MAFIA * Italy - Investigates Mafia Links to TNT Express

Dutch mail and express group fully co-operating with authorities in Milan

Milan,Italy -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bruce Barnard -Mar 16, 2011: -- TNT Global Express confirmed reports its Italian parcel delivery unit has been targeted by a mafia organization... The Dutch mail and express group said it is fully co-operating with authorities in an investigation into possible links between the 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate and one of its subcontractors in the Milan area... TNT said it works with 20 subcontractors around Milan and each has been subjected to a strict vetting process... There was nothing to lead TNT to suspect any irregularities, the company said in a statement... An Italian court claimed the 'Ndrangheta controls TNT's parcel delivery operations in the Lombardy region surrounding Milan... Police in Italy and Germany arrested 35 alleged 'Ndrangheta members a week ago on multiple charges of extortion, money laundering and drug trafficking... The 'Ndrangheta, which is based in the southern province of Calabria, is estimated to have an annual income in excess of $50 billion... The syndicate controls Gioia Tauro, the southern Italian transshipment port that handles over 3.5 million containers a year, according to a parliamentary report in 2008... Organized crime has infiltrated a wide range of waterfront activities from customs and container storage to cargo distribution and freight forwarding, according to parliamentary investigators... (Photo from 5.calshop: Porto Gioia Tauro)