Rocco Morabito, a convicted Italian drug lord linked to the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, has been successfully extradited from Brazil to Italy, accompanied by Italian law enforcement officers belonging to the INTERPOL Cooperation Against ‘Ndrangheta (I-CAN) project.
Morabito is considered a top international drug broker and one of the most wanted fugitives in the world, according to the Italian Ministry of Interior. The extradition follows intensive cooperation between the INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) in Brazil and Italy.
Arrested in Brazil in March 2021 through a joint operation between the Brazilian Federal Police and the Italian Carabinieri with support from INTERPOL, Morabito had spent 23 years on the run from Italian justice, which sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
Morabito was previously set to be extradited from Uruguay after he was arrested in the country in a 2017 operation led by the Italian Carabinieri’s Special Operation Division and Investigative Unit. In 2019, however, he escaped from prison and an INTERPOL Red Notice was issued against him.
“The extradition of Rocco Morabito sends a powerful message: however strong the criminal web of mafia groups may be, our global police network is stronger,” said Giovanni Bombardieri, Chief Prosecutor of the Antimafia Prosecution Office of Reggio Calabria.
“‘Ndrangheta operatives leverage immense financial resources to avoid facing justice, but by mobilizing law enforcement through INTERPOL, we will find them and ensure they account for their actions in the end.”
Fugitive mafia boss-Rocco Morabito-extradited from Brazil to Italy
