ROME, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- An Italian leading entrepreneur in the betting industry was among 31 people targeted in an anti-mafia operation in Sicily on Thursday.
Overall, some 23 people were arrested, and 8 others were put under investigation, police said in a statement.
All of them were variously charged with mafia association, money laundering, illegal transfer of financial assets, drug trafficking, and fraud.
Among those arrested was Benedetto Bacchi, one of the major businessmen in the gambling sector in Italy, who was charged with external mafia association and laundering money for the mafia.
According to prosecutors of the local Anti-Mafia District Directorate (DDA) coordinating the probe, the entrepreneur succeeded in monopolizing the gaming sector thanks to a crucial agreement with the mafia clans in Palermo (Sicily's regional capital).
"He was able to establish a network of betting agencies -- over 700 across Italy -- producing profits worth over 1 million euros (1.2 million U.S. dollars) per month," police stated.
"A portion of these proceeds -- between 300,000 and 800,000 euros every year -- was then allocated to the mafia organization," it added.
Some 40 agencies belonging to the entrepreneur were seized in the operation, along with an unspecified number of real estate, companies, and bank accounts.
Other "professionals above suspicion" were among those arrested, for allegedly providing a crucial contribution to the illegal businesses of the clans, including drug trafficking, according to investigators.
"The mafia evolves, and, in this case, it has made a deal with those entrepreneurs able to bring them relevant amounts of money," Rodolfo Ruperti, chief of Palermo's police flying squad, said.
