Rocco Morabito: Fugitive mobster handed over to Italy

Mobster Rocco Morabito, one of Italy’s most wanted individuals, has arrived in Rome after being extradited from Brazil, where he had been hiding. Morabito, who was dubbed the “cocaine king of Milan,” was taken into custody by Brazilian and Italian police in May of last year during a combined operation.

The 55-year-old will spend 30 years in prison for distributing drugs. The mafia boss used a false identity while hiding underground in South America for decades. He was finally located by police last year in Joo Pessoa, a port city in northeastern Brazil, where he was detained alongside Vincenzo Pasquino, another Ndrangheta mafia member. Since then, Pasquino has been given a 17-year prison term for narcotics trafficking.

After decades of searching, Rocco Morabito has finally arrived in Rome. Rocco Morabito, who was raised in the Calabrian hamlet of Africo and has ties to mafia leader Giuseppe Morabito, rose to prominence within the ‘Ndrangheta, a vast criminal organisation that dominates much of the cocaine trade in Italy and worldwide.

Morabito established important cocaine smuggling routes from South America into Milan as a young man, quickly becoming known as a prolific drug dealer in the city.

He was well-dressed in double-breasted suits and frequently spotted mixing with the city’s jet set. Italian police immediately became aware of him and put him under surveillance.

He was seen trying to arrange arrangements to get more than a tonne of cocaine from South America into the country, but he quickly vanished. Police believe he eluded capture by travelling to Brazil, where he resided under the guise of Francisco Capeletto. From there, he moved to the neighbouring country of Uruguay, where he spent at least 13 years living in the tourist city of Punta del Este.

He was imprisoned for two years in 2019 while awaiting extradition to Italy until he and three other prisoners made their escape via a hole in the roof.

He was eventually located in a hotel in the city of Joo Pessoa in 2021 as part of a multinational police operation directed by Interpol with the goal of stopping the ‘Ndrangheta. His extradition to Italy was authorised last week by Brazil’s federal top court.

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