Officials also announced the closing of 11 Narconon drug rehabilitation centers, but did not elaborate on the connection. Raids were conducted in 20 cities including Milan, Turin, Florence, Rome, Genoa and Naples. The last one was Saturday when police shut down a recently opened Scientology office in the eastern town of Macerata. No arrests were made or charges filed. The office of Milan investigating magistrate Guicla Mulliri said the raids were part of an investigation into possible physical abuse, fraud, violation of labor laws and tax evasion.
Every church survives by donations.
The U.S. government has long claimed that Scientology is not a religion and should not be exempt from taxes. In 1978, federal agents raided Scientology headquarters in Los Angeles and Boston and seized documents that authorities claimed showed infiltration of government agencies by Scientologists. The defendants were ordered to stand trial by magistrate Guicla Mulliri, who investigated the group at the instigation of relatives of members of the Church, founded by American L. Ron Hubbard. Parents said they were not allowed any contact with their children who had joined the Church or entered its drug rehabilitation programmes. The investigation made headlines in Italy in December 1986 when police confiscated records from Church branches and drug rehabilitation centres throughout the country.