🚨 BREAKING: Operation “Talpe Criminali” unleashes hell as 127 of Italy’s most notorious Cosa Nostra killers — all serving life sentences — are captured in a staggering 5,000 square meter underground bunker deep beneath the Aspromonte mountains. This colossal manhunt, orchestrated by National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor Giovanni Melillo at 3 a.m. on November 8, 2024, marks an unprecedented victory against organized crime.
For a decade, this sprawling fortress was a death den built with military-grade technology — a subterranean city designed to defy justice. Housing dormitories for 200, industrial kitchens, a fully operational operating theater, a massive arsenal of 1,000 weapons, a fake document lab, autonomous power systems, and even a chapel and burial ground, it was no mere hideout. As Melillo unveils, it was a parallel mafia state defying Italian law with impunity.
The 127 killers collectively bear responsibility for over 847 murders, including judges, children, priests, and law enforcement — a gruesome legacy spanning five decades. Salvatore “The Butcher” Riina Jr., son of the infamous Totò Riina, personally confessed to 47 brutal murders. Giuseppe “Angel Face” Graviano admitted to strangling 23 victims by hand, while Antonio Madonia, once a doctor, revealed the cold-blooded torture and precise surgical killings numbering 35 victims.
Leoluca “The Executioner” Bagarella, specialized in eliminating magistrates with 12 assassinated judges to his name, and Vincenzo “The Poisoner” Marchese, responsible for 28 agonizing poisonings, exemplify the horror embedded within these tunnels. These killers had all chosen to live underground, evading decades of life sentences rather than facing justice.
Melillo’s revelation of this fortress’s scale stunned even seasoned investigators: an underground labyrinth 100 meters beneath the earth, divided into 15 sectors, with industrial-grade kitchens capable of feeding 500 people daily, gyms, high-tech communication centers, and 12 emergency escape routes threading into the surrounding villages and businesses. The main entrance camouflaged beneath a tombstone in a cemetery — an ironic tomb for justice evaded.
Security here was impenetrable, incorporating infrared cameras, motion sensors, and alarms linked to external mafia cells. The meticulously coordinated operation deployed 2,000 special forces officers including GIS, NOKIS, GOI, Cacciatori di Calabria, and elite military units. At zero hour, communication lines went dead as military jammers sealed them off, cutting any chance of escape.
The siege unfolded with tactical precision: gas infiltration, sniper takedowns of sentries, and controlled explosions carved new entry points, demonstrating cutting-edge military technology. Despite fierce armed resistance, every fugitive was cornered. Attempts at suicide were met with immediate medical intervention; every convict was to face trial alive. The operation’s relentless resolve was palpable.
The police seized overwhelming evidence: 500 cell phones, 2 million euros cash, 1,000 forged documents, 50kg of cocaine, and a phenomenal arsenal including Kalashnikovs, grenades, mortars, and C4 explosives — stockpiles enough to wage a civil war. Some weapons were modifications from global conflicts, enhanced with laser sights, silencers, and extended magazines, primed for mass destruction, including plans to execute terrorist attacks against state institutions.
Digital forensics exposed sprawling criminal networks, with 500 accomplices linked from family members feeding the bunker with food, medical aid, and illicit resources. Dozens of corrupt officials and trade merchants upheld this empire of terror through systemic complicity and corruption, shielding it from law enforcement for years.
Investigations also revealed chilling assassination blueprints aimed at the Italian President, the Pope, schools, and mass poisoning of Rome’s water supply — plots poised to unleash catastrophic public terror, thwarted just 48 hours before execution.
This historic crackdown reverberated worldwide. Multi-country coordination led to arrests of 145 mafia affiliates spanning the US, Germany, Australia, and Canada. The dismantling of financial networks caused dramatic collapses in mafia-related asset valuations, with over 200 million euros in frozen foreign bank accounts seized.
Giovanni Melillo’s unflinching leadership culminated in this operational masterpiece. His dedication honors the 847 lives lost to mafia violence, delivering long-awaited justice for victims, families, and a nation scarred by cruelty. Revelations include confessions from notorious criminals finally revealing the truth behind infamous murders and bombings.
As the bunker is sealed and convicted criminals transferred to maximum-security prisons under 41 bis, Italy stands victorious. The contaminated mountain lair will undergo a meticulous five-year cleanup to purge a decade of chemical and toxic pollution, symbolically eradicating the poison of organized crime from the soil.
The forthcoming trial, coined the “Norimberga di Cosa Nostra,” will bring 627 defendants to justice in a custom-built maximum-security courtroom designed to withstand any threat. Charges include murder, drug trafficking, racketeering, corruption, and terrorism — a prosecutorial onslaught promising historic sentences that will dismantle mafia impunity forever.
Today, Italy regains control over its future. The arrest of these 127 killers and their network signals a seismic shift in the battle against organized crime. Giovanni Melillo’s relentless resolve has rewritten history; justice has pierced the shadows where even the darkest killers once believed themselves untouchable. The fight is far from over—but today, it is a resounding victory for law, order, and humanity itself.
