Carabinieri police on Wednesday staged a huge operation to execute warrants to arrest 97 people suspected of being linked to to the Calabria-based ‘Ndrangheta mafia, sources said.

The operation was concentrated in the area of the city of Reggio Calabria although suspects were also detained in other cities in different parts of Italy.

Several of the top ‘Ndrangheta clans were hit.

The suspects are accused of crimes including mafia association, international drugs trafficking, extortion and kidnapping.

The ‘Ndrangheta is Italy’s richest mafia thanks to its virtual control of the European cocaine trade, and also its most powerful and dangerous, having eclipsed Sicily’s Cosa Nostra.

Its tentacles stretch worldwide.