61 Italian mob suspects held

ITALIAN police arrested 61 purported members of the Naples-based Camorra mob yesterday for allegedly running drug and extortion rings in the southern Italian city.

The suspects arrested in and around Naples include nine women and several bosses of the Sarno clan, a top local crime family.

Investigators believe the Sarno clan was vying for a leading position in the Camorra, which is the Neapolitan version of the Sicilian Mafia. Police said the group forced firms to pay protection money and controlled local cocaine flow.