'Ndrangheta

The 'Ndrangheta is a criminal organization in Italy centered in Calabria (near Sicily). Despite not being as famous abroad as the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, and having been considered more rural compared to the Neapolitan Camorra and the Apulian Sacra Corona Unita, the 'Ndrangheta managed to become the most-powerful crime syndicate of Italy in the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade). While commonly lumped together with the Sicilian Mafia, the 'Ndrangheta operates independently from the Sicilians, though there is contact between the two, due to the geographical proximity, and shared culture and language of Calabria and Sicily. A US diplomat estimated that the organization's drug trafficking, extortion and money-laundering activities accounted for at least 3 percent of Italy's GDP. Since the 1950s, the organisation has spread towards the north of Italy and worldwide.