PORTOFERRAIO – Giovanni Daveti, deputy prefect of the tourist-famed Tuscan island of Elba was arrested on Thursday on charges of criminal association and illegal detention of explosives, alongside a member of the felonious 'Ndrangheta clan, related to the 1983 assassination of Turin prosecutor Bruno Caccia, officials said.

 Finance Police detained Daveti, 61, a local representative of the central government deputy prefect of Elba, responsible for keeping order, and the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta family member, Giuseppe Belfiore, reportedly the brother of the criminal ringleader who directed Caccia’s murder.

 Belfiore was allegedly conducting operations from Piedmont across central-northern Italy and abroad, extending out to France and Spain.

 Seven others were seized in Thursday’s Finance Police blitz under charges of criminal association and illegal detention of explosives, suspected of collaborating in the illicit operations.

 The police raid, coordinated by Livorno prosecutor Ettore Squillace Greco, encompasses investigations into 30 people, all reportedly entangled amongst unlawful activities revolving around Daveti and Belfiore.

 An investigation report revealed that the probes “have allowed us to detect the illegal activity continuously carried out by a criminal group, set up in Livorno to commit tax frauds.” The measures were taken following probes into unauthorised building on the island of Elba.

 According to the Finance Police, Daveti, who claims to be a victim of a real estate scam, was planning a “revenge” mission alongside a friend from Livorno, intent on using explosives to target the car of his alleged crook.

 Police are dissecting undercover operations across Italy in a nationwide clampdown, including searches in Livorno, Turin, Asti, Padua, Ravenna, Forlì, Pisa, Pistoia, Campobasso, Naples, Salerno, Lecce and Brindisi.

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