The Calabrian Mafia controls the supply and trafficking of large quantities of methamphetamine into Australia, according to the newspaper.
They are called "the Seven Families of Adelaide". The term refers to the Calabrian Mafia`s history in Australia, which tracks back to 1922, when the ship Re D`Italia docked in Adelaide.
Extortion, bribery, cannabis cultivation and racketeering have been the hallmarks of the `Ndrangheta in Australia for almost a century. But Italian investigators warn that the new generation of mobsters is involved in a much more damaging trade, the article said.
A British-based criminologist, Dr Anna Sergi told the inquiry the path for ice to the streets of Melbourne and Sydney was controlled by Italian crime families via "brokers", who tend to be Spanish and Armenian, and Italian authorities were aware of the trade, according to the article.
"The channels to Australia for methamphetamines that we found to have been organised by Italians generally go from Armenia, where they are transported ... to Bilbao, and then on flights from Bilbao to Europe, mainly in the plastic parts of suitcases, that is the favourite way," Dr Sergi told the inquiry. "From Prague and Frankfurt, they are ... shipped to Australia,” the article said.
Italian authorities may be aware of the pathway of ice from Armenia to Australia, but they have been unable to stop it. That is due, they say, to a breakdown in communications between Australia and Italy, said the newspaper.
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