355 members of 'Ndrangheta in 'maxi-trial'

The trial grew out of an investigation of 12 clans linked to convicted 'Ndrangheta boss, Luigi Mancuso. Mancuso, 66, is head of one of the 'Ngrangheta's most powerful crime families, based in the town of Vibo Valentia. Once a band of thugs, today they are said to control 80% of Europe's cocaine trade, raking in about £50b a year — or 3% of Italy's GDP. They formed an allegiance with cartels in South America, who manufacture the cocaine, and Albanians, who distribute it.

Extreme brutality is the 'Ndrangheta's trademark. Three judges are assigned to oversee Italy's largest mafia trial in more than 30 years. Prosecutors claim the gangsters infiltrated almost every aspect of life in Italy's Calabria region. The trial is expected to take at least a year and will involve 355 defendants, 400 lawyers and 900 witnesses.