Carabinieri sequence with chopper silhouette, abandoned building etc.

Southern Italy's crack anti-Mafia squad takes to the air.

These heavily anned paramilitary police are codenamed the Falcons.

Their mission is to find another of the region's many kidnap victims.

Two months ago, a businessman called Lollo Cartisano was kidnapped in the coastal town of Bovalino in Calabria.

These rugged mountains are the heartland of the Calabrian Mafia -­known as the 'N drangheta.

In this lawless territory, kidnappings have been an easy way for the 'N drangheta to fund their illegal operations.

A power in their own right, for decades they've been beyond the reach of judges like Nicola Gratteri

IN

Nicola Gratteri - Judge

Villages like Plati, San Luca, Natile, Glolosa, villages of two or three thousand inhabitants, have been able to throw the Italian Government into crisis, with the problem of kidnapping. At one point the kidnappings became a problem of State. There have been moments with some kidnappings when the Government could have been brought down.

After more than sixty days' captivity, the police know Lollo Cartisano will be suffering badly --­but in this hostile land they have no reliable leads.

With few roads, the mountains provide a wealth of hiding-places, caves and boltholes.

But what's given them almost total safety from pursuit has been the code of Omerta --- the law of silence, enforceable by death.

Hut in Bush

In the mountains, the kidnappers stay in huts like this, covered with leaves and branches. Their hostages, such as Lollo Cartisano, are chained and manacled in holes in the ground for months on end.

Carabinieri in forest

Because of the code of silence the Carabinieri have almost nothing to go on in their search for the hostages.

In the absence of reliable tipoffs, al they can do is comb every square metre of territory.

And interrogating locals like these foresters gets them no closer to the kidnappers.

I/V

Nicola Gratteri - Judge

The State has been completely absent - not just the

forces of order. There are no offices in which to work.

There's no communal organisation. Even the Church is absent. So these unscrupulous people have had it easy, because of the absence of the State

Sancutary of Polsi

The 'Ndrangheta guards its mysteries jealously.

This one of its sacred sites ... the sanctuary of Polsi, a monastery deep in the mountains.

Here, until repeated police raids forced them to move, the 'Ndrangheta's high tribunal used to meet to sentence traitors to death.

Roadside Crucifix

And this is another of their sacred places.

PTC

There have been more than ten kidnappings a year here in the so-called triangle of death for the last 20 years. And, in almost all of them, this crucifix has figured either as a message drop or as the place where the ransom money was to be picked up. Nobody knows exactly what the significance of the crucifix is to the organisation --- such is the obsessive secrecy of the 'Ndrangheta

2Shot

Judge Roberto Pennisi is the leading legal crusader against Calabrian organised crime

Iv

Roberto Pennisi - Judge

The very existence of a law of silence (Omerta) testifies to the existence of a Mafia-type organisation, because the first consequence of that kind of organisation is the law of silence (Omerta)

anti mafia meeting with free 10110 people

But for the first time in post-war history, the 'Ndrangheta's secretive power is under serious challenge. Encouraged by Italy's growing anti­corruption tide, a group of friends of the hostage has for the first time taken a stand against the kidnappers.

t-shirt

They formed the "Free Lollo" committee to fight the kidnappers

Iv

Woman at meeting

For the first time in this community we're seeing an unequivocal wish for change. For the first time a group has decided to take a clear position, taking sides with the State against Mafia arrogance. For the first time people have decided to run risks to give the State back its lost dignity and credibility.

But there's no safety in numbers in Calabria. All here knew that to speak out was intensely dangerous.

Wild cloud and mountain shots montage

The rugged wilderness of the Aspromonte mountains.

Here lies Plati.

PTC Plati (ENGLISH)

Judges here say that eighty percent of the people of this region are Mafiosi, the rest live in fear of them.

Here in Plati, they say, the numbers are even greater. This is a town under complete 'Ndrangheta domination.

Hard stares from women on balconies, men on steps

Plati doesn't like outsiders. In the past camera crews have been beaten and had their cameras smashed or stolen.

Wedding sequence starts

We were allowed inside Plati because a member of the Trimboli family was getting married, and in the heat of the moment the bride's father gave us permission to film.

It was an unprecedented glimpse into the life of a town the law sees as too hot to handle.

IN

Nicola Grafteri

Big Mafia families decide who'll be mayor, control the votes, decide who'll win tenders - for the last few years all tenders have been controlled by the Mafia.

They've even divided up all the State land between them as if it were their own property.

Barbaro Castle

This is the Plati home of Francesco "Ciccio" Barbaro, the godfather of the Plati 'Ndrangheta.

Roadblock

Outside it, the Carabinieri set up a roadblock to check traffic in and out of the town. They wouldn't take us into Plati itself -- such is the strength of the 'Ndrangheta's control.

Mugshot still of Barbaro

Even from jail, where he's doing 27 years for kidnapping, Barbaro can still exercise absolute power.

Veneto

But Barbaro's lawyer Annando Veneto says that's not proved.

Iv
Armando Veneto - Lawyer

But U is true that this is a man of great charisma and great personality. Often charismatic people become the targets of speculation that they are Mafia bosses, or secret bosses, or people whose word is law.

Children playing outside wedding

In a town like Plati, the judges say, the families instil their values early.

The code of the ‘Ndrangheta is passed from father to son.

The children learn early that the State is their enemy.

          Iv

Roberto Pennisi - Judge

The structure of Calabrian organised crime, called 'Ndrangheta, is of the family-based kind. The first tie which makes it possible for a person to operate with another person in the crime field is the tie of blood.

Sicilian Archive

The Sicilian Mafia, the Cosa Nostra, has been under heavy pressure over the last year. And, its political networks are unravelling all over Italy.

Rival organisations like the 'Ndrangheta can only benefit.

ABC - Yugo ftage

With expansion into Eastern Europe, gun running in the Balkans, prostitution and drugs, the 'Ndrangheta has grown almost out of recognition.

Graphic -- showing drug trail leading from Turkey, Pakistan, Colombia into Calabria

My sources say the 'Ndrangheta has stitched up its own independent deals with drug producers in Turkey, Pakistan and Colombia.

Graphic - showing drug route up through Italy and into Piedmont / Lombardy / Tuscany.

Once in Calabria, the drugs are funnelled up to Northern Italy, where, investigators told me, the 'Ndrangheta is now the biggest player in the drug trade.

Morace 2 shot

Domenico Morace

Obviously, the 'Ndrangheta, like most organised crime, is no longer just a local thing. It's made up of big, experienced professionals, and big companies, which mostly operate beyond suspicion. They arrange a series of legal activities that are entirely financed with capital from criminal activity throughout the country.

Street shots in reggio

It takes courage to speak out against the 'N drangheta in Calabria

Its influence is everywhere

Closing sequence ... bride and

groom come out of church,

pelted with rice, sugared almonds, crowds of well-wishers, etc and the crowd departs down the street into Plati.

A day of joy for the Trimboli family in Plati.

But, Plati's joy may not be unconfined.

The last year's anti-corruption tornado has transformed much of the rest of Italy almost out of recognition.

Even Calabria may not be able to resist the forces of change for much longer.

END