Italy wants to nab Mafiosi over Easter

Italian authorities believe that many Mafia leaders will return home for Easter and this could provide an ideal opportunity to arrest them.

The Interior Ministry has sent a letter to police forces across the country reminding them that many mobsters may come out of hiding for the holiday period.

The ministry says that even if they do not return in person they may telephone their families, thus providing vital clues as to their whereabouts.

Italian TV reported that, on one occasion, a Mafia boss was arrested because he made a phone call from his village during the local saint's festival.

Police were able to trace him because of the church bells ringing in the background to celebrate the saint.

Italy is a country with strong family ties, a fact which the police could exploit to their advantage.

Several mobsters have been caught after they phoned home for the birthdays of family members.

Elusive

But top Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano, who has been at large for decades, is unlikely to be caught so easily.

Letters of his seized by the police thank family members for the cakes sent to him for Easter or Christmas, suggesting he does not go home on these occasions.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.