Thousands of Italian mafia operating in Australia, federal police say

AFP say Calabrian mafia have been in Australia for decades, laundering money and pulling the strings' of other gangs

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Thousands of Italian mafia members are operating in Australia and until recently had gone largely undetected while pulling the strings" of other criminal gangs, Australian federal police say.

In a press conference on Tuesday, AFP assistant commissioner Nigel Ryan detailed the extent of Italian organised crime, including the Ndrangheta, in Australia and plans to target them.