Italy anti-Mafia raids net dozens

Police have arrested several high-profile Mafia suspects

Italian police say they have arrested a suspected Mafia boss and dozens of other alleged Cosa Nostra gangsters during raids in eastern Sicily.

Vincenzo Santapaola, son of a jailed Mafia godfather, Benedetto "Nitto" Santapaola, was arrested in Catania.

The suspects are accused of extortion, drug trafficking and other crimes.

On Monday police shot dead one of the most wanted Mafia bosses in Sicily, Daniele Emmanuello. He died during a police raid, Italian officials said.

Police have targeted the Sicilian Mafia in a series of raids since the arrest on 5 November of Salvatore Lo Piccolo, the alleged Cosa Nostra "boss of bosses".

"We are dismantling the clans piece by piece," said Interior Minister Giuliano Amato, quoted by the Associated Press.