A capo of the Calabrian mafia ‘Ndran fell in Brazil …

The capo of the calabrian mafia Rocco morabito, It had been escaped from a prison in Uruguay in June 2019, he was captured on Monday in the city of Joao Pessoa, in northeastern Brazil, as reported by the Federal Police (PF). With him was arrested “another Italian outlaw” named Vincenzo Pasquino, a member like him of the Calabrian mafia. The arrest was the result of “a joint investigation between Brazil and Italy”, according to what was reported by the authorities.

“Since Sunday, a team of Italian police from the Interpol central office in Rome, who participated in the investigation, and riflemen, have moved to Brazil for the arrest,” added the police. on one of Italy’s most wanted criminals, and strongman of the Calabrian mafia, the ‘Ndrangheta

“There are traces of the performance of Rocco Morabito in the organization of drug trafficking between Brazil and Europe since the 1990s,” said the PF of a man wanted since 1995 by the Italian justice, when he escaped from Milan. One of his cousins, Giuseepe Morabito, was a fugitive for twelve years until his fall in 2004.

“This is an extraordinary achievement, which demonstrates the capacity of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies to effectively fight organized crime and its international ramifications,” said Italian Minister of the Interior, Luciana Lamorgese . “It is a blow to the ‘Ndrangheta. The fight against the mafias and illegality is a priority, ”said Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini.

Morabito, 54, is considered one of the bosses of the ‘Ndrangheta. In Italy, they accuse him of illicit association and drug trafficking. At the time of his escape he was known as “the king of cocaine”. He had come to Milan from his hometown of Africo, Calabria. On the peninsula it was sentenced in absentia to 28 years in prisonthe damage which was later extended to 30 years.

Took into consideration among the ten most wanted criminals in the world, Morabito was arrested in Montevideo in 2017. He had resided in the resort town of Punta de Este for over a decade under a false name: Francisco Antonio Capeletto Souza. His downfall came when he enrolled his daughter in college under her real name. A year later, his extradition to Italy was approved, but In June 2019, he escaped through the roof of Montevideo central prison with three other foreigners, and since then he has been a fugitive. In 2020, Ferdinando Sarago, a member of the ‘Ndrangheta, was imprisoned in Argentina, which organized the escape from Uruguay with 50 thousand euros to bribe the guards.

Reggio Calabria lawyer Giovanni Bombardieri pointed out that throughout his long stay in South America, Morabito acted as an “international drug broker”.

“He led a normal life. He went to the beach and frequented public places. He did not have the life of a fugitive,” said Massimiliano D’Angelantonio, commander of the second investigation sector of the Special Operations Corps. of Italy. In fact, he started a new family and he introduced himself as a rich soy businessman, with contacts with local authorities.

For the national anti-mafia prosecutor of Italy, Federico Cafiero De Raho, it was an “exemplary” operation due to the international collaboration and cooperation achieved, since it also involved Interpol, the American FBI and the DEA. “It was innovative work in terms of investigation, the climate of camaraderie was a learning process for all future operations,” said Ricardo Lackner, prosecutor in charge of economic crimes in Uruguay.