The operation, dubbed "Black Axe", allowed Italian police to declare that they had arrested 30 Nigerian nationals suspected of being members of a mafia group in 14 provinces of the country.

''Black Axe'', started in L'Aquila, capital of the Abruzzo region, and targeted members of the mafia linked to drug trafficking, prostitution, illegal immigration, internet fraud, "romance fraud" and money laundering Italian police have successfully arrested the head of a major organization who faces nearly 100 charges.

The Black Ax is a secret society that originated in Nigeria in the 1970s. It was originally called the Neo Black Movement and aimed to liberate the black race, according to its founders. It controls petty theft and has even supplanted native Italian gangs such as the Ndranghetta, Cosa Nostra and Camorra. A recent attack by Italian police led to the dismantling of more than 74 members of the Nigerian mafia, including their leader, 50-year-old Emmanuel "Boogye" Okenwe.