Cocaine Brokers: The 'Ndrangheta in South America

COCAINE / 23 NOV 2022

Italy’s ’Ndrangheta Mafia has capitalized on South America’s cocaine boom to secure its role as one of the most influential drug trafficking groups in the world. Based in the southern Italian region of Calabria, this group has grown to become a multibillion-dollar enterprise with a presence that spans the globe.

In this three-part series, InSight Crime explores the ‘Ndrangheta’s role in South America’s cocaine trade.

Chapters are dedicated to how the Italian port of Gioia Tauro became a cocaine gateway for Europe, how the 'Ndrangheta's enduring connections with Colombian paramilitaries flooded Europe with cocaine, and how one trafficker, Rocco Morabito, exemplified the Italian group's modus operandi in Latin America.

Chapter 1

The 'Ndrangheta: Versatile Middlemen in the Cocaine Pipeline to Europe

COCAINE / 23 NOV 2022

The 'Ndrangheta have made the Italian port of Gioia Tauro crucial to their European cocaine empire by controlling it with corruption and threats.

Chapter 2

The 'Ndrangheta Connection to Colombia's Paramilitaries

NDRANGHETA LATIN AMERICA / 23 NOV 2022

A close relationship between a Colombian warlord and an Italian restaurateur would lead to Europe being flooded with cocaine by the 'Ndrangheta.

Chapter 3

Cocaine Brokers: The Flexible Backbone of the ’Ndrangheta Trafficking Empire

NDRANGHETA LATIN AMERICA / 23 NOV 2022

Rocco Morabito embodied the 'Ndrangheta business model in Latin America. Read about his incredible story here.

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