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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian authorities said Friday they
captured an alleged leader of the Italian ’ndrangheta mafia in
Latin America who is accused of overseeing cocaine shipments and
managing illegal trafficking routes to Europe.
Police identified the suspect as Giuseppe Palermo, also known as
“Peppe,” an Italian who was wanted under an Interpol red notice,
which called for his arrest in 196 countries.
He was apprehended on the street in Colombia's capital Bogota
during a coordinated operation between Colombian, Italian and
British authorities, as well as Europol, the European Union’s
law enforcement agency, according to an official report.
Palermo is believed to be part of “one of the most tightly knit
cells” of the ’ndrangheta mafia, said Carlos Fernando Triana,
head of the Colombian police, in a message posted on X.
The ’ndrangheta, one of Italy’s most powerful and secretive
criminal organizations, has extended its influence abroad and is
widely accused of importing cocaine into Europe.
The suspect “not only led the purchase of large shipments of
cocaine in Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, but also controlled the
maritime and land routes used to transport the drugs to European
markets,” Triana added.
Illegal cocaine production reached 3,708 tons in 2023, an
increase of nearly 34% from the previous year, driven mainly by
the expansion of coca leaf cultivation in Colombia, according to
the United Nations.
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