Italian authorities have seized more than $232 million in assets linked to the late Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, targeting a network built on decades of drug trafficking and financial laundering.

The operation, announced on Thursday and led by Italy's financial police, the Guardia di Finanza, traced the funds across Europe and offshore jurisdictions, dismantling what officials described as a vast criminal fortune accumulated since the 1980s.

Messina Denaro, a leading figure in the Cosa Nostra, evaded capture for 30 years before his arrest in Palermo in January 2023. He died later that year after serving only months in prison.

Investigators said the seized assets span multiple countries, including Spain, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco and Lebanon, as well as offshore financial centres such as the Cayman Islands and Gibraltar.

Authorities said the money flowed back into the legal economy through a complex web of companies and investments, including luxury properties on Spain's Costa del Sol, financial portfolios and corporate holdings.

Three people have been arrested as part of the investigation, which relied on surveillance techniques including drones, aircraft and thermal scanners to locate concealed assets and hidden spaces.

Italy's chief anti-Mafia prosecutor, Giovanni Melillo, described the operation as a major step in dismantling the group's financial base. He said it also delays and hinders efforts by the organisation to rebuild following Messina Denaro's death.

The fugitive boss had been convicted of multiple high-profile crimes, including involvement in the 1992 killings of judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, as well as a wave of bombings across Italy in 1993. He was also sentenced for the kidnapping and murder of a 12-year-old boy.

Source: www.aljazeera.com