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A nun in Italy has been arrested on suspicion of being part of a criminal gang which had links to the country's most powerful mafia network, the 'Ndrangheta. According to the BBC, the nun, named Sister Anna Donelli, was among 24 people who were arrested in northern Italy in connection with the mafia investigation. She was arrested for allegedly acting as a go-between for the 'Ndrangheta mafia and its jailed gang members, Italian police said. The arrests are a result of a four-year investigation into the 'Ndrangheta, which is one of Europe's most influential and dangerous criminal organisations, the outlet reported.
According to the statements released by the coalition of law enforcement agencies, the 57-year-old nun leveraged her position as a volunteer at the prison. The Brescia Carabinieri said she was an unsuspecting figure, whose religious role allowed her "free access to the penitentiary facilities".
Officials accused her of being an intermediary, "exploiting the very spiritual role she carried out" to pass messages and orders between bosses on the inside and foot soldiers tied to Italy's notorious 'Ndrangheta organized crime syndicate based in Calabria, in the south of the country.
"She carried orders, directives, moral and material aid to associates, receiving in turn from the prisoners useful information to better plan criminal strategies," said prosecutor Francesco Prete, per CNN.
He added that Donelli, who is currently under house arrest, was "at the disposal of the criminal association to guarantee the connection with the associates detained in prison and those outside."
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Along with Donelli, two politicians have also been arrested. Cops also seized 1.8 million euros ($1.9 million) worth of assets in raids across several towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions, as well as Calabria in the south.
The operation is ongoing, with police officers conducting searches across northern Italy. Investigators allege the group primarily used scrap metal trade businesses as a front to launder money, totalling approximately €12m in laundered cash, prosecutors said.
Notably, the 'Ndrangheta is considered one of the world's most dangerous criminal organisations.