A cheese crime was committed in Italy, and Giuseppe Mandara, the largest buffalo mozzarella producer in the country, is paying the price. The cheese giant allegedly had ties to the mafia, while also employing some fishy standards with his product line.

Italian police have arrested the head of the biggest buffalo mozzarella maker in the country and seized assets worth 100 million euros ($A120.47 million) on suspicion of links to organised crime.

The police said Giuseppe Mandara - who once called himself the "Armani of Mozzarella" in an interview - and his Mandara Group were controlled by the notorious Casalesi clan of the Camorra mafia based in the city of Naples.

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Photo by Jeff Kubina