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| Scores held in anti-Mafia raids | Scores held in anti-Mafia raids |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Italian police say they have arrested nearly 100 people in anti-Mafia raids across the southern island of Sicily and in the central region of Tuscany. | Italian police say they have arrested nearly 100 people in anti-Mafia raids across the southern island of Sicily and in the central region of Tuscany. |
| They say the operation targeted the bosses of local clans who were planning to rebuild the Sicilian Mafia - also known as Cosa Nostra. | They say the operation targeted the bosses of local clans who were planning to rebuild the Sicilian Mafia - also known as Cosa Nostra. |
| A police statement said the raids involved some 1,200 police officers. | A police statement said the raids involved some 1,200 police officers. |
| The Sicilian Mafia was dealt huge blow with the arrest in 2006 of its boss Bernardo Provenzano. | The Sicilian Mafia was dealt huge blow with the arrest in 2006 of its boss Bernardo Provenzano. |
| Provenzano was arrested in April 2006 after 43 years on the run | |
| The police statement said that Matteo Messina Denaro, alleged to be one of the mobsters trying to become the overall leader, was behind the plan to set up a Mafia council with the aim of appointing a new godfather. | The police statement said that Matteo Messina Denaro, alleged to be one of the mobsters trying to become the overall leader, was behind the plan to set up a Mafia council with the aim of appointing a new godfather. |
| Provenzano - who is also known as the "Boss of Bosses" - was arrested in April 2006 after 43 years on the run. | |
| After his arrest Provenzano was believed to have handed the reins of the Cosa Nostra to a younger man, Salvatore Lo Piccolo. | |
| He was arrested in November 2007, and police say they are still not sure who is now heading the Cosa Nostra. | |
| For many years, the Mafia's core criminal activity has concentrated largely on protection rackets and the construction business. It is also involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. |