A dangerous Italian fugitive with close ties to the Italian poly-criminal syndicate ‘Ndrangheta has been arrested in Colombia. The dangerous fugitive, believed to be responsible for international drug trafficking, had evaded capture in various Latin American countries.
A joint law enforcement effort by the Colombian National Police (Policía Nacional de Colombia) and the Italian Carabinieri (Arma dei Carabinieri), with the support of Europol and the INTERPOL Cooperation Against 'Ndrangheta (I-CAN), led to the capture of the criminal.
Among other serious crimes, the Italian national is believed to have arranged cocaine shipments to several European ports with drug cartels in Colombia on behalf of the mafia organisation.
The arrested man, who has ties to many high-ranking members of Italian organised crime as well as Latin American drug cartels, had spent several months in clandestine drug laboratories. Investigators were able to establish how the ‘Ndrangheta had sent the individual to the mountains in Colombia to work directly with drug manufacturers in their production facilities, with the aim of bringing these new-found skills to Europe.
A futile, old-school attempt to avoid capture
In November 2023, the fugitive was apprehended near his temporary residence, despite trying to identify himself with a forged Colombian identity document. Europol had developed reliable intelligence concerning this individual’s international drug trafficking activities, for whom INTERPOL had issued a Red Notice, and was able to narrow down his location in Latin America.
Europol then brought together all the investigators involved to agree on a joint strategy to arrest the suspect. To this end, Europol also set up a virtual command post to coordinate the activities on the ground. This operation was supported by EMPACT and the ON Network, which is funded by the EU (Internal Security Funds Project ‘ISF4@ON’) and led by the Italian Antimafia Investigation Directorate.
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