Meet the Surrey Sopranos! Ross Kemp's claim that leafy commuter town is a Mafia hotspot leaves locals scratching their heads
Ross Kemp has left locals in a leafy commuter town baffled after claiming in a new TV show that it has become a hotspot for the Mafia.Woking is the new base of Britain's own 'Surrey Sopranos' after Italian and American crime gang bosses swapped their hometowns for the town 23 miles outside of London, Kemp claims.He made the comments on his brand new criminal-hunting Sky show Ross Kemp: Mafia And Britain, set to air from September 10.According to the former Eastenders actor and presenter, Mafia dons are shunning their traditional roots and turning to sleepy European towns where they believe they can operate without police suspicion.Kemp, 60, tells viewers: 'The very reason they choose places like this is because it's the last place authorities would look. The Mafia have always served to fill a gap in illegal markets.' Ross Kemp claimed Woking has become a new base for the Mafia as Italian and US gangs seek smaller towns across Europe to operate in secrecy Woking locals said the idea was 'ridiculous' and were doubtful the Mob could be operating from their leafy townOne, who runs a food truck in the town centre, said yesterday: 'I heard about this on the radio this morning. It did make me laugh. I thought - next you'll be telling me pigs can fly.Read More Sicily's shops get offer they can't refuse - as they ban all mafia-themed tat 'It is a bit ridiculous. There are lots of Italian people in the area - and there are lots of million pound houses around the centre.'But that doesn't make them the Mafia.'Another resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, added: 'Ha - that's a good laugh. I've lived here all my life and I haven't heard that.'I have no connection to the Mafia. I promise. I really doubt that's true.'Chris Bird, 73, wasn't convinced by the presence of the Mafia - but did say there is some 'criminality' happening in Woking.He said: 'There are lots of Italian people in Woking. But I wouldn't say they're in the Mafia.'But there is a problem with drugs here. That's the real issue. That's the criminality here.'Meanwhile, Jo Chambers, 73, said she hadn't heard anything about the Mafia - but admitted it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility. Kemp's new series is to start next Tuesday on Sky - and is just the latest in a series of crime documentaries he has fronted, including one based in Afghanistan (pictured) Al Capone, a mobster in 1930s Chicago, is possibly the most famous Mafia member of all time Policemen targeting the American Mafia in Chicago in the 1930s test bullet-proof shieldsShe said: 'I've not heard anything like that. But I mind my own business - so I may not have notice it.'As well as Woking, the show is also set to visit other alleged Mafia hotspots in the UK including Aberdeen, Preston and Hendon, north London.The Mafia, or the Mob, has its roots in Italy in the early 18th century.After waves of European immigration to America in the second half of the century and into the early 1900s, similar crime gangs soon formed and began to run illegal operations in the US too.The American Mob was particularly successful during the era of prohibition, which began in 1919 and continued until 1933.Criminalising alcohol was unthinkable for many Americans, and the Mafia ran a huge trade in importing illegal spirits and selling them on.In the 1920s after Mussolini came to power in Italy, thousands of mobsters again emigrated to the US.In all forms of the Mafia, wars between rival families have often been deadly as they struggle over turf, drugs and weapons trades and protection rackets. In Chicago, perhaps the most famous mobster ever Al Capone was no exception to this, massacring the North Side Gang.
