Italy conducts operations against domestic violence and labor exploitation

Italian authorities have conducted several operations targeting violent crime and labor exploitation. In the Salento region, Carabinieri arrested three individuals in separate incidents involving domestic violence, extortion, and threats. In Minervino di Lecce, a 42-year-old man was jailed for allegedly persecuting and threatening his father to extort money. In Copertino, a 37-year-old man was arrested for aggravated personal injury and domestic abuse following an attack on his sister and father at a hospital emergency room. Additionally, a 37-year-old man was arrested in Gallipoli following the suspension of his social service probation.

In a separate large-scale operation in the Piana di Sibari, the Catanzaro District Anti-Mafia Directorate targeted criminal organizations involved in 'caporalato' (labor exploitation) and migrant trafficking. Twenty people, including eighteen Pakistani nationals, an Indian national, and a Bangladeshi national, were detained. The investigation uncovered two criminal associations that allegedly monopolized agricultural labor, forcing workers into slavery-like conditions.

Victims, primarily of Pakistani and sub-Saharan origin, were reportedly housed in dilapidated conditions with up to twenty people per room and lacked basic utilities. Exploitation included forced wage deductions, excessive working hours without rest, and transport in cramped vehicles. The organizations allegedly used threats of violence and deportation to maintain control over the workforce.