Italian authorities seek drugs and arms smugglers between Italy and Albania

Italian authorities said Tuesday they were seeking the arrest of 80 suspected members of a criminal gang that ran prostitution rings and smuggled arms and drugs between Italy and Albania. Carabinieri paramilitary police said the operation targeted an Albanian gang based in Calabria that worked with the 'ndrangheta, the organized crime group based in the southern Italian region.

The suspects, both Italian and Albanian, are accused of criminal association with the aim of human trafficking, forcing people into slavery, running prostitution rings, and trafficking arms and drugs. Carabinieri in the Calabrian town of Catanzaro said the 'ndrangheta allowed the forced prostitution of girls from Eastern Europe in exchange for arms and drugs imported from Albania.

The arrests were ordered in Italy, Albania and Germany. Police could not confirm how many arrests had already been made early Tuesday, saying the operation was ongoing, reports the AP. I.L.