Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, May 09, 2025

Rocco Morabito: Fugitive mobster handed over to Italy

Rocco Morabito: Fugitive mobster handed over to Italy

One of Italy's most wanted men, mobster Rocco Morabito, has arrived in Rome after being extradited from Brazil, where he had been in hiding.

Rocco Morabito (centre) was on the run for decades in Uruguay and Brazil

Known as the "cocaine king of Milan", Morabito was arrested in May last year in a joint operation by Brazilian and Italian police.

The 55-year-old will serve a 30-year prison sentence for drug trafficking.

The mafia boss spent decades on the run using a fake identity in South America.

Police finally tracked him down last year to João Pessoa, a port city in north-eastern Brazil, where he was arrested along with another member of the 'Ndrangheta mafia group, Vincenzo Pasquino. Pasquino has since been sentenced to 17 years in prison for drug trafficking.


Escape artist


The arrival of Rocco Morabito in Rome ends a decades-long manhunt.

Born in the Calabrian town of Africo and with family ties to mafia boss Giuseppe Morabito, Rocco Morabito became a key figure in the 'Ndrangheta, the sprawling criminal network which controls much of the cocaine trafficking in Italy and beyond.

As a young man, Morabito soon made a name for himself as a prolific drug trafficker in Milan, establishing key cocaine smuggling routes from South America into the Italian city.

Rocco Morabito was known as "cocaine king of Milan"


Sharply dressed in double-breasted suits he could often be seen mingling with the city's jet set and soon came to the attention of Italian police, who put him under surveillance.

He was recorded trying to broker deals to import more than a tonne of cocaine from South America but disappeared shortly afterwards.

Police think he fled to Brazil, where he lived under the assumed name of Francisco Capeletto.

From there, he relocated to neighbouring Uruguay, where he lived in the resort of Punta del Este for at least 13 years.

Rocco Morabito lived in a villa in the resort of Punta del Este


While he rented a luxurious house, filling it with works of art, neighbours said he drove a modest car and it was not until he threw a lavish party for his daughter's birthday that they became aware of his riches.

But it was when Morabito registered his daughter at school under her real name that police put him under surveillance.

In September 2017, when Morabito moved into a hotel in the capital, Montevideo, after he had had a row with his wife, police swooped.

Among his possessions, they found a gun, 13 mobile phones and 150 passport-sized photos of Morabito in different guises.

However, his days on the run were not yet over. In 2019, having spent two years in prison awaiting extradition to Italy, he escaped along with three other inmates through a hole in the roof.

As part of a Interpol-led multinational police operation aimed at combatting the 'Ndrangheta, he was finally tracked down to a hotel in the city of João Pessoa in 2021.

Brazil's federal supreme court authorised his extradition to Italy last week.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
Depression, Fear of Defamation, and a Tragic End: New Details on Virginia Giuffre’s Suicide
“Sharia for UK, Allah Akbar!”
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Incident Reflection: A Harsh Reality Check
Pakistani migrants to Danish man: “ “We have 5 children while you have 1 or 2. In 10 years, there will be more Pakistanis than Danes here.“
Clashes Erupt in London as Tensions Rise Between Indian and Pakistani Communities
Specialized anti-drone weapons deployed among security personnel Ahead of Papal Funeral
How do you fix this culture?
×