Italian judges arrested for suspected ties to the mafia

Police arrested 16 Italian judges as part of a major mafia swoop, BBC News reported. The 16 judges are suspected of taking bribes from the Camorra mafia in Naples. 

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Prosecutors say that the judges are part of a "vast web of corruption" involving "illicit trade of court verdicts," the Financial Times reported. 

Police also seized more than one billion euros, Corrierre.it reported. 

In February the BBC profiled a woman who famously stood up to the Camorra mafia. The woman, a shopkeeper named Raffaella Ottaviano, told the BBC that the Camorra had come into her store to demand protection money. She refused and then identified the mafia members to the police. The story is unusual because Camorra's victims are usually too afraid to come forward.

"The Camorra has been described as Italy's most bloody and ruthless mafia," the BBC said. 

The Financial Times reported that the new anti-mafia operation, called Operation Bad Metal, targets a business called the Ragosta group. The company is accused of being "the main business hub" for the Camorra. So far 47 people have been arrested as part of Operation Bad Metal, the Times said.