Top-Stories The Hidden Fleet At sea, humans are just one commodity among many. The smugglers of the Mediterranean load up their cargo ships with drugs, weapons – and refugees. We went in search of their ships and their shell corporations. The trail took us from the Middle East to Piraeus and Hamburg. to the research
Mafia in Africa Cosa Nostra Diamonds Harare, Zimbabwe. Early January 2011. A man buys one million carats of blood diamonds. Cash. With rustling green American dollars, a single transaction worth tens if not hundreds of millions. He's young, good-looking and incredibly rich and powerful. His name is Antonino Messicati Vitale, and he is a boss of the Sicilian mafia, the Cosa Nostra. to the research
Mafia in Africa ‘Cosa Nostra AG’ Isolated and alone in only a few square metres. All around are white walls. There is nobody to talk with. Nobody to write to. Correspondence with the external world is forbidden. No emails, no Facebook. Not even hand-written letters. Just silence. Slowly, you go mad. Even the 'hour of air' is spent alone. For if these men manage to communicate with the outside and get orders to the 'family', assets and people can disappear. to the research
