TNT, the Dutch express delivery giant, has announced that it is co-operating fully with a police investigation into allegations that its Milan office is involved with the Mafia criminal organisation.

    Italian and German police have arrested 35 suspects said to be part of the 'Ndrangheta Mafia drugs, extortion and money laundering organisation, reports Newark's Journal of Commerce. An Italian court claimed 'Ndrangheta controls TNT's parcel delivery operations in Lombardy around Milan in the north of Italy.

    TNT Global Express confirmed that its Italian parcel delivery unit has been targeted by the Mafia, but a TNT company statement said it works with 20 subcontractors in the Milan area and there is nothing that leads management to think that company is involved with any irregular activity.

    'Ndrangheta, based in southern Calabria on the mainland opposite Sicily, is said to control Gioia Tauro, the transshipment port that handles over 3.5 million containers a year, said the report.

    According to a parliamentary report in 2008, the Mafia has infiltrated a wide range of waterfront activities from customs and container storage to cargo distribution and freight forwarding.

(Source:http://www.schednet.com)