An error frees a capo of the Calabrian mafia arrested in Barcelona

The fugitive Vittorio Raso detained in Barcelona, ​​at the time he was being transferred to the police station.

Vittorio Raso, 41, one of the most wanted Italian gangsters in Spain in recent times, has vanished after being arrested on October 10 in Barcelona.

The alleged leader of the Calabrian mafia, the 'Ndrangheta, was released after testifying before the National High Court.

The court alleges that at that time he only knew that he was wanted for extortion, and it was not until two hours after ordering his release that he learned that he was a mafia boss.

Police sources criticize that the court received a police report, which explained who Raso was, which accompanied the European arrest warrant issued by Italy.

The magistrate has again ordered his arrest.

Raso's arrest was widely reported by the press department of the National Police on October 12.

The note sent to the media emphasized that he was a "prominent member of the 'Ndrangheta".

Specifically, Raso was defined as a

: "a prominent figure in the Calabrian organization that mainly carries out its criminal activity through drug and arms trafficking."

• The hunt for one of Italy's most wanted drug lords

• Barcelona as a refuge for the 'Ndrangheta

The following day, he appeared by videoconference before magistrate Alejandro Abascal, reinforcement judge of the Central Court of Instruction 6 of the National High Court.

At that time, the European arrest warrant issued by Italy only included the crime of extortion, one of the three for which he was wanted, for which he was released with charges, indicates a spokeswoman for the National Court.

Police sources insist that Raso's arrest was accompanied by a report of more than three pages detailing the sentences of 15 and 20 years that were requested for the crimes of extortion, plus 20 damages for the crime of drug trafficking , all as a member of the 'Ndrangheta.

Two hours after his release, the Italian police expanded the information through the Sirene Office (a mechanism between states to exchange data) and sent the second document indicating that Raso was also wanted for drug trafficking as one of the leaders of the 'Ndrangheta.

The magistrate then activated the detention process again, but Raso had already left the dungeons of the City of Justice in Barcelona, ​​from where he testified by videoconference, to the astonishment of the police and the Italian authorities.

“The whole world is looking for him.

They have looked at the homes that were known to be there, but there is no trace, "lament police sources, who again try to hunt down the same man.

Raso lived in a

in Barcelona, ​​facing the sea.

Before being arrested, in July, the police verified that he planned to escape on a boat to Brazil with falsified documentation.

The investigation against Raso began in October 2018, thanks to the collaboration between the National Police and the Italian police.

Initially, he was detected in Malaga, a city in which he had “great coverage by the Italian organization 'Ndrangheta”.

Later, it was found that he had moved to Barcelona, ​​where he ended up being located.

At the time of his arrest, he was carrying false documentation.

The two extortions for which an arrest warrant was issued occurred between 2012 and 2016, one of them, and the second between April and June 2016, according to police sources.

He is accused of extorting people to whom the Calabrian criminal organization had loaned large sums of money (between 40,000 and 50,000 euros) and was asked for 10% monthly interest.

To collect it, Raso allegedly used violence.

In addition, he is also attributed a crime of trafficking in hashish between Italy and Spain.

After the arrest in Barcelona, ​​the Italian police carried out various searches in Turin "against individuals closely linked" to Raso.

In the homes they found 360,000 euros, more than 13 kilos of drugs and various weapons and ammunition of illegal origin (a pistol, a carbine and a submachine gun).

Then, it was reported that the investigation was still open in search of "a series of subjects, present in the Italian territory and in Spain", linked to drug trafficking and money laundering.

The 'Ndrangheta is the most powerful mafia in Italy, with the capacity to move around 43,000 million euros a year, according to data from the Catanzaro Prosecutor's Office.

It is the mafia with the most

around the world.

The money that Raso allegedly collected was later destined to feed the criminal organization again.