US AUTHORITIES HAVE ARRESTED over 110 people as part of an ongoing investigation into organised crime.

US Attorney General Eric Holder said today that he and his partners in tackling organised crime were “pleased to announce an important step forward” in the fight against the mafia.

Holder said over 110 individuals, “including dozens of La Cosa Nostra members and associates”, including one in Italy, were arrested, and charges have been brought against 127 people in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

The FBI says it has charged 91 members and associates from seven mafia families with federal crimes.

Those charged include “mob associates and mob bosses alike”, Holder said, continuing:

Their alleged crimes include numerous illegal acts – from murder and narcotics trafficking, to extirtuibm eilll gambling, arson, loansharking and labour racketeering.

Today’s operation was the largest single-day operation against the mafia in the FBI’s history, he said, but the fight against organised crime remains far from over. FBI Director Robert S Mueller said the cost of organised crime was being borne by legitimate businesses and American consumers across the country.

FBI Assistant Director Janice Fedaracyk said that today’s arrests, which involved at least 800 federal agents and police officers, were the culmination of multiple investigations spanning years.