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00:00 This specially constructed high-security bunker in Calabria is so vast that scores of screens
00:05 were anchored to the ceiling so participants could view the proceedings within.
00:10 In its largest mafia trial in decades, Italy is expected to hand down hundreds of sentences
00:15 Monday, the culmination of a historic three-year trial against the notorious 'Ndrangheta mafia.
00:22 The proceedings revealed countless examples of the 'Ndrangheta's stranglehold over the
00:26 local population, including carrying out violent ambushes, shaking down business owners, stockpiling
00:32 weapons, and leaving dead dolphins on the doorsteps of people who opposed them.
00:37 "At a European and world level, it has repercussions because the 'Ndrangheta is one of the strongest
00:46 organizations in the world, able to manage the international traffic of narcotics as
00:51 well as many other activities, not only in Italy."
00:56 The verdicts could be the most significant blow to date against one of the world's most
01:00 powerful organized crime syndicates.
01:02 Nearly two million Calabrians live under the sway of the 150 clans that comprise the 'Ndrangheta.
01:08 The most powerful clan is headed by Luigi Mancuso, who was cut from the defendants list
01:13 last year to be tried separately.
01:15 He gained power through his role in the construction of the port of Gioia Toro, which is central
01:20 to the 'Ndrangheta's near monopoly on the European cocaine trade.
01:24 These operations against the 'Ndrangheta have taken place across Europe in the past
01:28 few years, aiming to break up their complex web of money laundering outlets, including
01:34 hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, and car dealerships.
01:38 Mafia experts estimate that the 'Ndrangheta bring in more than 50 billion euros annually
01:43 from drug trafficking, usury, siphoning public funds, and extortion.