Italian police on Thursday carried out over 400 arrests in a nationwide sweep against illegal immigrants and drug trafficking which also saw the participation of Romanian law enforcement officers.
Most of the arrests were carried out in and around nightclubs and other locations frequented by drug dealers.
As well as Romanians, those arrested included Italians, Albanians, Greeks, Chinese, Moroccans and Italians.
Aside from drug dealing, the operation also targeted gangs specialised in household robberies, often on commission, prostitution and illegal immigration.
In related events, it was announced on Thursday that 15 additional Romanian police investigators will arrive in Italy on Monday to work with Italian police in combating crimes committed by Romanian nationals, including Roma gypsies.
The announcement coincided with talks in Rome between Romanian Interior Minister Cristian David and his Italian counterpart, Roberto Maroni.
The talks focused on cooperation between the two countries on immigration and combating crime.
Next week Maroni will present a new law and order strategy plan which is expected to be immediately adopted by the government when it holds its first official cabinet meeting, in Naples on Wednesday.
As well as stiffening police action it will make it a crime for migrants to arrive in Italy without papers.
This will be the first time that clandestine immigration will be an offence punishable by jail time.
Up till now illegal migrants have either been deported or, in the majority of cases, simply been ordered to leave Italy.
A police report issued on Thursday said that in 2007 Italian police arrested 1,587 illegal immigrants, while another 10,430 foreigners were arrested or temporarily taken into custody and 9,592 were denied entry into Italy.
A total of 20,455 illegal immigrants landed on Italian shores last year, a 7% drop from 2006, the report said.
Italy has been grappling in recent months with a major public order problem regarding Roma.
Gypsy camps are now being cleared and Roma suspects arrested after a string of high-profile crime.
In the wake of the attempted abduction of a baby in Naples, Neapolitans have burned camps to prevent gypsies returning, drawing condemnation from humanitarian groups.
There have also been attacks on camps in other cities.
