Regis Philbin
Aug 12th, 2006, 07:50 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060811/ap_on_re_eu/italy_security_crackdown_1
Italy arrests 40 in security crackdown
By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press Writer
Fri Aug 11, 4:14 PM ET
ROME - Police raided Internet cafes, money-transfer offices and long-distance phone call centers catering to Muslims and arrested 40 people in a crackdown linked to Britain's announcement it had thwarted an alleged terror plot, authorities said Friday.
The arrests in Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence, Naples and other cities on Thursday and Friday were "part of an extraordinary operation that followed the British anti-terrorist operation," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
More than 4,100 people were stopped for identification checks, the ministry said.
Twenty-eight people were arrested for violating rules on residence permits and 12 were arrested for property crimes, the statement said, without giving details. The raids resulted in 114 expulsion orders.
A year ago, a similar security sweep in Italy at money transfer centers, Muslim butcher shops and similar places resulted in 141 arrests. Those raids came a few weeks after the London subway attacks.
On Friday, police also searched 15 homes occupied mostly by Pakistanis in several Italian cities as part of a Belgian police probe into suspected financing of terrorism, the ministry said.
Italy arrests 40 in security crackdown
By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press Writer
Fri Aug 11, 4:14 PM ET
ROME - Police raided Internet cafes, money-transfer offices and long-distance phone call centers catering to Muslims and arrested 40 people in a crackdown linked to Britain's announcement it had thwarted an alleged terror plot, authorities said Friday.
The arrests in Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence, Naples and other cities on Thursday and Friday were "part of an extraordinary operation that followed the British anti-terrorist operation," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
More than 4,100 people were stopped for identification checks, the ministry said.
Twenty-eight people were arrested for violating rules on residence permits and 12 were arrested for property crimes, the statement said, without giving details. The raids resulted in 114 expulsion orders.
A year ago, a similar security sweep in Italy at money transfer centers, Muslim butcher shops and similar places resulted in 141 arrests. Those raids came a few weeks after the London subway attacks.
On Friday, police also searched 15 homes occupied mostly by Pakistanis in several Italian cities as part of a Belgian police probe into suspected financing of terrorism, the ministry said.