Jun.28, 2010, 11:22 AM EDT

June 28 (Bloomberg) -- Italian finance police arrested 24 people in a probe of alleged money laundering of 2.7 billion euros ($3.3 billion) by a Chinese criminal organization involved in counterfeiting, tax evasion, human trafficking and prostitution.

The country’s finance police are seizing assets worth “tens of” millions of euros in eight regions including Tuscany and Lombardy, according to an e-mailed statement today. Police arrested 17 Chinese nationals and seven Italians for alleged mafia association for laundering profits made through counterfeiting, tax evasion, human trafficking and prostitution since 2006, according to the statement.

The gang was run by a Chinese family based in Milan. They partnered with Italians who owned a money transfer company in Bologna, police said. They took part in criminal activities, mainly counterfeiting in the central Italian provinces of Florence and Prato, home to one of Italy’s biggest Chinese communities. Police seized more than 780,000 counterfeit goods produced in the area or shipped from China.

A total of 134 people are under investigation. The ring exploited illegal Chinese immigrants in textile factories, who were living in “dirty and unhealthy” conditions, according to the police statement.

Italy’s finance police discovered 22 billion euros in undeclared income in the first five months of 2010.