Police break gang feeding steroids to buffaloes, By: Barbara McMahon

10/10/06

Italian police say they have smashed a criminal network linked to the Camorra mafia that was feeding buffaloes with steroids to produce more milk for making mozzarella cheese.

Dozens of people have been being questioned and thousands of illegally imported tablets confiscated, the police said. Farmers in the Caserta area, near Naples, have been ordered to keep some 1,500 buffaloes in their stalls. Those being questioned include vets, breeders and chemists. The raid follows a similar operation last year that smashed a gang that was doping horses with Viagra.