Italian mafia boss Rocco Morabito captured in Brazil

Years ago he managed to escape from a prison in Uruguay that was like a movie.

Now the Italian mafia boss has been arrested in Brazil.

Joao Pessoa - One of the most wanted criminals in Italy has been caught in Brazil: The Mafia boss Rocco Morabito (54), known as the "cocaine king" of Milan, was arrested in northeastern Brazil on Monday (local time), according to police.

Morabito, wanted for drug trafficking, escaped from a prison in Uruguay in 2019 and has been on the run since then.

Morabito was caught together with another alleged criminal from Italy in the city of Joao Pessoa, the Brazilian police said.

This was preceded by joint investigations with the Italian authorities.

The alleged mafioso has been wanted in his home country since 1995 for his involvement in drug smuggling between Brazil and Europe.

Morabito was arrested for the first time in 2017 in a hotel in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, after living under a false identity in Uruguay for 13 years.

In 2019, the "cocaine king" and two other inmates managed to escape from prison through a hole in the roof.

In Uruguay he was awaiting extradition to his home country, where he had been sentenced to 30 years in prison in absentia.

Mafia boss Rocco Morabito is known as the "cocaine king" of Milan

Morabito belonged to the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta.

Italy's most powerful mafia organization does not shy away from blackmail or murder and is behind drug trafficking, money laundering and illegal waste disposal.

Italy has so far listed Morabito as one of the most dangerous refugees in the country.

He was wanted internationally for more than two decades and in absentia he was sentenced to a 30-year prison term for drug trafficking and belonging to the Mafia, among other things.

Morabito is said to have been primarily responsible for the drug trade between South America and Milan.

Interpol and Brazil worked together

Rocco Morabito was arrested during a joint operation by the Brazilian police and Interpol in the eastern Brazilian coastal city of Joao Pessoa, Justice Minister Anderson Torres announced on Twitter on Monday (local time).

(AFP / dpa)

List of rubric lists: © URUGUAY'S INTERIOR MINISTRY / AFP