Bruce Barnard | Mar 16, 2011 11:23AM EDT
TNT Global Express confirmed reports its Italian parcel delivery unit has been targeted by a mafia organization.
The Dutch mail and express group said it is fully co-operating with authorities in an investigation into possible links between the 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate and one of its subcontractors in the Milan area.
TNT said it works with 20 subcontractors around Milan and each has been subjected to a strict vetting process.
There was nothing to lead TNT to suspect any irregularities, the company said in a statement.
TNT said there has been no impact on its services.
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TNT news from JOC:
TNT Express Profit Grows, Mail Retreats
An Italian court claimed the 'Ndrangheta controls TNT's parcel delivery operations in the Lombardy region surrounding Milan.
Police in Italy and Germany arrested 35 alleged 'Ndrangheta members a week ago on multiple charges of extortion, money laundering and drug trafficking.
The 'Ndrangheta, which is based in the southern province of Calabria, is estimated to have an annual income in excess of $50 billion.
The syndicate controls Gioia Tauro, the southern Italian transshipment port that handles over 3.5 million containers a year, according to a parliamentary report in 2008.
Organized crime has infiltrated a wide range of waterfront activities from customs and container storage to cargo distribution and freight forwarding, according to parliamentary investigators.
-- Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.
