Colombia arrests alleged leader of Italian mafia in Latin America

Giuseppe Palermo has been wanted nether an Interpol reddish notice, which has called for his apprehension successful 196 countries.

Colombian authorities person captured an alleged person of the Italian ‘Ndrangheta mafia successful Latin America who is accused of overseeing cocaine shipments and moving amerciable trafficking routes to Europe.

Police connected Friday identified the fishy arsenic Giuseppe Palermo, besides known arsenic “Peppe”, an Italian nationalist who was wanted nether an Interpol reddish notice, which called for his apprehension successful 196 countries.

He was nabbed connected the thoroughfare successful Colombia’s superior Bogota during a coordinated cognition betwixt Colombian, Italian and British authorities, arsenic good arsenic Europol, the European Union’s instrumentality enforcement agency, according to an authoritative report.

Palermo is believed to beryllium portion of “one of the astir tightly knit cells” of the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, said Carlos Fernando Triana, caput of the Colombian police.

The ‘Ndrangheta, 1 of Italy’s astir powerful, ruthless and clandestine transgression organisations, has progressively wielded its power overseas and is wide accused of importing cocaine into Europe.

The fishy “not lone led the acquisition of ample shipments of cocaine successful Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, but besides controlled the maritime and onshore routes utilized to transport the drugs to European markets”, Triana added.

Illegal cocaine accumulation reached 3,708 tonnes successful 2023, an summation of astir 34% from the erstwhile year, driven chiefly by the enlargement of coca leafage cultivation successful Colombia, according to the United Nations.

The planetary illicit cause trade, including cocaine, is estimated to beryllium worthy much than $500bn annually.