Catholic Nun Working for Mafia Arrested in Italy Among 25 Other Criminals

In southern Italy, law enforcement officers detained 57-year-old nun Anna Donelli. The woman was one of 25 people accused of committing a number of crimes related to mafia activities. This was reported by CNN with reference to the police.

The Italians are suspected of extortion, drug trafficking, receiving stolen goods, usury, tax fraud and money laundering.

The nun is suspected of working for the Ndrangheta crime syndicate in northern Italy.

Law enforcement officials believe that the woman was an intermediary when she volunteered in several prisons in and around Brescia, as well as in northern Lombardy.

The woman is accused of using her ‘spiritual role’ to pass messages and orders between Mafia leaders inside the prisons and other members of the group outside.

‘She transmitted orders, instructions, moral and material support to her accomplices, receiving useful information from prisoners to better plan criminal strategies,’ said prosecutor Francesco Prete during a press conference.

Anna Donelli is currently under house arrest.

In total, police detained 25 people, including a doctor who treated the wounded mafia members. During the operation, law enforcement officers seized €1.8 million in cash, as well as weapons and drugs in Bergamo, Verona and Treviso.

As The Gaze previously reported, in the summer, Italy, Switzerland and Brazil conducted a joint anti-mafia operation that resulted in the detention of one person and the freezing of €50 million in mafia assets.

The Palermo-based mafia family was involved in various types of criminal activity, including extortion, money laundering and value trafficking, and also collaborated with other organised crime groups.