Dozens of suspected members of the 'Ndrangheta mafia were arrested on Wednesday in co-ordinated raids as part of what is being hailed as the biggest ever EU operation against organised crime.

A total of 84 suspects were arrested as police in Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg raided the homes of suspected mafia bosses and searched restaurants and other businesses in the early hours of the morning. Italian authorities say that further raids were conducted in South America.

The 'Ndrangheta, a mafia organisation that operates out of the Calabria region of southern Italy, is one of the largest crime syndicates in the world, and is thought to make billions of pounds through cocaine trafficking every year.

Operation Pollino was co-ordinated by Eurojust, the EU’s cross-border justice authority, which described it as a “decisive” intervention against organised crime.

“Today, we send a clear message to organised crime groups across Europe. They are not the only ones able to operate across borders; so are Europe’s judiciary and law enforcement communities,” said Filippo Spiezia, vice president of Eurojust.