Italian criminal on the run located by Europol

On 12 May 2016, the Dutch Politie executed in The Hague an arrest warrant issued by the Dutch Judicial authorities against a suspect originating from the Italian province of Reggio Calabria. The arrest warrant was issued following a request sent to The Netherlands from Turin’s Court of Appeal and the Italian Ministry of Justice to execute a series of concurring penalties.

The suspect was a prominent member of the Belfiore criminal syndicate operating in Turin and was sentenced to 14 years and 8 months of imprisonment in 2007 for having trafficked 1,500 kg of hashish between The Netherlands, Spain and Italy prior to 1997, and also to a further 4 years of imprisonment for fraudulent bankruptcy.

The suspect fled Italy in 2001 while he was under Special Surveillance in order to subtract himself from the execution of the sentence, and was recently located in The Netherlands by Europol.

The synergies between Europol, the Dutch Liaison Magistrate to Rome and the Italian authorities allowed for the case to conclude positively with the arrest of this prominent figure of Italian organised crime.