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Italian police have arrested the man dubbed the drug king of Palermo whose lifestyle has been likened to Scarface, the gangster portrayed by Al Pacino in the classic film.

Guido Spina, 49, “godfather” of the Zen clan, controlled a quarter of the Sicilian capital. He was arrested at his opulent mansion built like a fortress beside one of the country’s poorest housing estates.

Spina and 16 others, including his wife and daughter, were held Thursday in raids involving more than 100 anti-mafia police in an operation codenamed Fiume, or River.

Investigators described Spina’s home as a “drug supermarket” where vast amounts of cocaine were cut and sold to distributors and pushers who came to do business while his grandchildren played nearby.

They said the women of the family played a major role, often using cars and camper vans for fake holidays where they took the children to Calabria and Puglia to pick up drug shipments.

Spina, whose home was filled with elaborate gold fittings and precious marble and had a large private swimming pool, also allegedly took thousands of euros a month in protection money from the poor as well as local businesses.

With a file from the National Post