'Ndrangheta

The 'Ndrangheta (, Italian: [nˈdraŋɡeta], Calabrian: [(ɳ)ˈɖɽaɲɟɪta]) is an Italian mafia-type criminal syndicate, based in the peninsular region of Calabria and dating back to the 19th century. Although loosely structured, it is considered one of the most powerful organized crime groups in the world. It is characterized by a horizontal structure made up of autonomous clans known as 'ndrine, based almost exclusively on blood ties. Since the 1950s, following wide-scale emigration from Calabria, 'Ndrangheta clans dispersed to other European countries, Australia and the Americas. Currently, its main activity is drug trafficking, but it also deals with arms trafficking, money laundering, racketeering, extortion, and loan sharking. It is capable of influencing local and national Italian politics, and infiltrating sectors of the legal economy in Italy and some other countries. In 2013, they purportedly made €53 billion. In 2010, a US diplomat estimated that the organization's drug trafficking, extortion and money laundering activities accounted for at least three per cent of Italy's GDP. The 'Ndrangheta has existed for as long as the better-known Sicilian Cosa Nostra, but was only designated as a Mafia-type association in 2010 under Article 416 bis of the Italian penal code. Italy's highest court of last resort, the Supreme Court of Cassation, had ruled similarly in March 2010.