A nun is one of 25 suspects arrested in Italy for allegedly taking part in a mafia network engaged in extortion and drug trafficking. 

The suspects were taken into custody as part of an investigation into the ‘Ndrangheta mafia in the northern city of Brescia.

Sister Anna Donelli, a Catholic nun who is a volunteer at Milan’s San Vittore prison, is believed to be colluding with the mafia acting as a go-between between the criminal group and its jailed gang members.

The nun, 57, is well-known for her service in Milan’s most deprived neighbourhoods and in February she was one of the recipients of the prestigious  ‘Golden Panettone’, an annual Milanese civic award.

Investigators have claimed that Sister Donelli ‘acted as an intermediary’ and took ‘advantage of her religious work, which allowed her full access to prisons’.

The Daily Telegraph reported that in an intercepted phone call one of the suspects allegedly told a contact: ‘If you need something inside, she’s one of ours.’   

The arrests were part of a long and complex investigation into the ‘Ndrangheta which started in 2020. 

Suspects are accused of various crimes including mafia association, vote buying, illegal possession of weapons, money laundering, loan-sharking, drug dealing and false invoicing, the police statement added.

The alleged gang was connected to the issuance of 12 million euros worth of invoices for non-existent transactions that enabled complicit entrepreneurs to lower their income and evade taxes in return for a commission paid to mobsters.