An uneasy alliance exists on the streets of Palermo between the<\/p>\n
traditional Sicilian mafia and Nigerian migrants encroaching on their
\nillegal trades<\/p>\n
Prosecutors in the Sicilian capital of Palermo are warning that a new
\nalliance between the mafia and Nigerian criminal gangs moving in from
\nLibya could herald a new era of organised crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven the Sicilian mafia has to deal with the wave of migration from
\nAfrica,\u201d said Leonardo Agueci, Palermo\u2019s deputy chief prosecutor. \u201cThe
\nneighbourhoods under mafia control have changed profoundly in recent years
\ndue to the growing presence of foreigners, especially Nigerians coming on
\nboats. Among them, there [are a small number] of people who want to
\ntransfer their illegal trafficking, linked to prostitution and drug
\ndealing, to Sicily. And the mafia was quite happy to integrate them into
\ntheir criminal business.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Ballar\u00f2, a mafia stronghold market area in the historic centre of the
\ncity, a whistle is traditionally used by drug dealers to attract
\ncustomers, who are offered hashish, marijuana and cocaine. In the past
\nthis signal was only used by Italian dealers working for Cosa Nostra, the
\nSicilian mafia. About two years ago, when Nigerians adopted the whistle,
\noffering drugs at a discount, it was clear that a new criminal
\norganisation had set foot in the city.<\/p>\n
State prosecutors in Palermo say the mafia brings in drugs and the
\nNigerians distribute them among both Italian and African clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear there is a subordinate relationship between Cosa Nostra and
\nthe Nigerian clans, with the former controlling the latter,\u201d said Agueci.
\n\u201cIf a Nigerian boss tried to rebel against Cosa Nostra, he would probably
\nend up incaprettato [tied up and killed] in the countryside.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Ballar\u00f2, profits from pizzo \u2013 the tax levied on merchants by the
\nSicilian mafia \u2013 are reinvested to buy drugs for resale to Nigerian clans
\nand their dealers. To have better control of their new African partners,
\nCosa Nostra seems to have made another rule clear: no guns.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have reason to assume,\u201d said Agueci, \u201cthat the mafia prohibits
\nNigerians from owning firearms. So when Nigerians have to settle accounts
\nwithin their community, they do it with axes and machetes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prostitution is thought to be one of the most profitable businesses for
\nthe Nigerian clans. According to police data, 90% of prostitutes in
\nPalermo come from Nigeria. Traditionally, Cosa Nostra is reluctant to
\ndirectly manage this business \u2013 according to the old mafia codes of
\nhonour, prostitution is considered a shameful activity.<\/p>\n
Recent months have seen a spike in violence linked to Nigerian gangs.<\/p>\n
In the state court of Palermo a trial against an alleged Nigerian
\ngangster, Austin Ewosa, 32, is under way. His street name is John Bull and
\nhe was arrested in September 2014, in a local bar in Ballar\u00f2. He stands
\naccused of assault, intimidation, criminal association and attempted
\nmurder, charges that could see him jailed for 10 years.<\/p>\n
According to the prosecution, Ewosa is the head of the feared Nigerian
\nclan Black Axe, a criminal organisation born as a sort of student
\nfraternity in the 1970s at the University of Benin City.<\/p>\n
On the night of 27 January 2014, Ewosa and his thugs allegedly dragged a
\n27-year-old man called Don Emeka down Via del Bosco, not far from Piazza
\nBallar\u00f2, where they brutally disfigured him with axe and machete blows.
\nEmeka was allegedly one of dozens of Ewosa\u2019s victims and was punished for
\nnot having submitted to his power.<\/p>\n
The risk of Nigerian criminals operating in Europe was revealed in a
\nletter sent to the Italian prosecutors from the Nigerian ambassador to
\nRome in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to draw your attention to the new criminal activity of a
\ngroup of Nigerians belonging to secret societies, forbidden by the
\ngovernment because of violent acts,\u201d wrote the diplomat. \u201cUnfortunately,
\nformer members of these sects were able to get into Italy where they
\nre-established their criminal organisations.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the prosecutors, some of the Black Axe members, including
\nEwosa, and also his victims, arrived in Sicily by boat. Most of them were
\ntemporarily hosted in the immigration camp at Caltanissetta, in the centre
\nof the island.<\/p>\n
Legal and well established Nigerians in Sicily are paying the price for
\nthis new criminal alliance between the gangs and the mafia. \u201cMany honest
\nNigerians live in Palermo,\u201d says Osas Egbon, 35, vice-president of Women
\nof Benin City, an association that tries to take Nigerian prostitutes off
\nthe streets. \u201cThey work hard and live in fear. These families are victims
\non two fronts. They are victims of both Sicilian and Nigerian
\ncriminality.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, Nigerians and Sicilians live in peace with the Abuja clans at the
\nservice of Cosa Nostra. But the equilibrium may not last.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment,\u201d says Agueci, \u201cit is hard to imagine Nigerians taking over
\nthe Sicilians. Cosa Nostra is too strong and can\u2019t be compared to the
\nNigerian clans.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
But the old Palermo godfathers have been replaced by young mafiosi who
\ndon\u2019t seem to carry the same authority as their predecessors. Meanwhile,
\nthe Nigerian gangs are getting stronger.<\/p>\n
Source: theguardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An uneasy alliance exists on the streets of Palermo between the traditional Sicilian mafia and Nigerian migrants encroaching on their illegal trades Prosecutors in the Sicilian capital of Palermo are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n