Rome: A total of 52 people were arrested in Italy Monday during a major anti-mafia operation carried out across the country.

The operation was ordered by the national anti-mafia investigative department (DIA), and started in the city of Taranto in the southern region of Puglia, targeting people affiliated with two powerful allied clans, D’Oronzo and De Vitis, Xinhua reported.

All arrested were charged with mafia association, drug trafficking, murder, extortion, and armed robbery.

Among those arrested were the boss of De Vitis family, Nicola De Vitis, who had been already sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing a woman belonging to a rival clan.

The man was currently serving a custodial sentence outside prison in Verona, after 18 years in jail.

IANS