Fashion hub in Italy becomes battlefield for Chinese mafia

When Zhang Dayong lay in a pool of blood on a sidewalk in Rome after being shot six times, few suspected a link to Italy's storied textile hub of Prato.

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Prato — When Zhang Dayong lay in a pool of blood on a sidewalk in Rome after being shot six times, few suspected a link to Italy's storied textile hub of Prato.

But a "hanger war" is raging in the city near Florence — turning Europe's largest apparel manufacturing centre and a pillar of Made in Italy production into a battleground for warring Chinese mafia groups.

The situation has become so urgent that Prato's prosecutor, Luca Tescaroli, has appealed to Rome for help, calling for an anti-mafia division and reinforcements for judges and police.

Tescaroli has warned that the escalation in crime has become a huge business operation and moved beyond Italy, particularly to France and Spain.

The gangs are battling to control the production of hundreds of millions of clothes hangers each year — the market is estimated to be worth €100 million (about R2 billion) — and the bigger prize of transporting apparel.