Italian police have arrested dozens of Mafia suspects in Sicily, the latest in a series of roundups that the government claim is crippling organised crime.
Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said the government is exerting a state presence in Sicily that is changing the climate there and eradicating the clans.
Police are executing 70 arrest orders, including one for Enzo Santapaola, the son of an infamous mob boss in the Sicilian city of Catania, Benedetto 'Nitto' Santapaola.
The suspects are accused of extortion, drug trafficking and other crimes.
The operation follows a series of high-profile sweeps targeting the Sicilian Mafia, including last month's arrest of 'boss of bosses' Salvatore Lo Piccolo after nearly a quarter century on the run.
Magistrates believe Lo Piccolo assumed command of the Cosa Nostra following the capture in 2006 of Bernardo Provenzano.
Another important Mafia leader, who was one of Italy's 30-most wanted men, was shot and killed by police on Monday as he tried to escape arrest.
