A 70-year-old leader of a Neapolitan mafia clan involved in human trafficking was detained at Rome airport.

In Rome, the police detained 70-year-old Maria Licciardi, who is called the leader and "godmother" of the mafia clan, which is part of the Neapolitan criminal structure Camorra. This is reported by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

During the arrest, notes Italy24, an elderly woman, nicknamed "Baby" (La Piccolina), did not put up any resistance and remained calm when she was shown the warrant. According to the publication, Licciardi planned to fly to Spain to visit her daughter.

Law enforcers believe that Maria Licciardi led the criminal gang of her late brother Gennaro Licciardi. She continued to manage the clan even after her release from prison: in 2009, a woman was sentenced to eight years in prison for participating in a criminal community.

Now the detainee is charged with extortion, fraud and other crimes. Investigators do not rule out that Licciardi tried to leave Italy after she learned about the investigation through her agents.

The main activities of the Camorra are racketeering, drug trafficking, arms trafficking and smuggling. Members of the structure also own construction companies, restaurants and garbage business in Naples. La Repubblica specifies that under Maria Licciardi, the group began to engage in human trafficking: they bought girls in Albania, who were then resold to third countries.