Overview of Italian mafias in Switzerland
You only find what you look for and you only look for what you are aware of. So, it is important to learn to look for things that are not in plain sight, to become aware of the fact that the Italian mafia operates surreptitiously in Switzerland. This interactive map shows how, over the decades, fedpol has gained more knowledge about the presence of Italian mafias in Switzerland. It does not show that mafias have increased their activity in Switzerland.
● 1960–1970:
Period of work-related migration. Many Italians left their country. Entire families or many inhabitants of the same village migrated to the same places in Switzerland. This is why there are many people from the provinces of Catanzaro and Crotone in Ticino and Zurich respectively. For the 'Ndrangheta, in which blood ties and belonging to a specific territory are very important as far as affiliation is concerned, this chain migration was an opportunity to rebuild the same structures abroad as in Calabria.