Brussels: More than 100 people were detained by police in Europe on Wednesday as part of a crackdown that dealt a "serious blow" to the Italian 'Ndrangheta mafia. Suspects were allegedly involved in the trafficking of drugs and weapons with Latin American counterparts.

"Today's raids are one of the largest operations carried out so far in the fight against Italian organised crime," said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, adding that they had "dealt a serious blow to the 'Ndrangheta."

According to the EU law enforcement agency Europol, the raid was a component of an investigation that involved Italy, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Romania, Brazil, and Panama.

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According to a statement from Europol, the network was primarily focused on transnational drug trafficking from South America to both Europe and Australia.

According to Italian police commander Massimiliano D'Angelantonio, the network arranged for money to be moved to pay for drug deals using Chinese money brokers in Italy and Colombia.

According to Europol, the 'Ndrangheta clans were also involved in smuggling weapons from Pakistan to South America in exchange for cocaine shipments from PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital), a criminal organisation in Brazil.

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The Cosa Nostra has been surpassed by the 'Ndrangheta as the most potent mafia organisation in the nation and one of the biggest criminal organisations in the world. The 'Ndrangheta has its origins in the southern Italian region of Calabria.

There have been mass shootings involving some of the 'Ndrangheta families that have been targeted, including one in which six people were killed in Duisburg, Germany.

Profits were reinvested in real estate, dining establishments, lodging facilities, car wash businesses, supermarkets, and other ostensibly legitimate commercial ventures.

According to Italian police, "Operation Eureka," which was started in 2019 initially to look into drug smuggling between Calabria and the Belgian city of Genk, resulted in the seizure of assets worth 25 million euros ($27.6 million) in Italy, Germany, Portugal, and France.

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Federal prosecutor Antoon Schotsaert of Belgium stated, "We believe that among the arrests were several persons of a high value who played a huge role in the organisation, not only in Belgium but in other European countries." Police in Belgium reported that they had detained 13 people.

According to the Italian police, 108 individuals were detained across Italy and other EU nations at the behest of Reggio Calabria-based police. They claimed that related investigations resulted in the detention of 53 additional individuals in northern Italy and the arrest of 24 individuals in Germany. ($1 = 0.9076 euros)