NAPLES (REUTERS) - Italian finance police on Tuesday conducted search and seizures of 41 football clubs, including 18 top league teams, on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering in the buying and selling of players, a police spokesman said.

Apart from the top-level Serie A teams, 11 B league teams and 12 from the lower brackets are involved. The probe also includes 12 player agents, finance police said. The names of the clubs involved were not given.

The Naples court ordered the searches as part of an investigation for the crimes of criminal conspiracy, international tax evasion, money laundering and invoice falsification, police said.