HomeNewsBriefColombia Recaptures Italian Mafia Fugitive After a Year at Large
BRIEF

Colombia Recaptures Italian Mafia Fugitive After a Year at Large

COCAINE EUROPE / 5 JUN 2014 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

Authorities in Colombia have re-arrested one of Italy's 20 most wanted mafiosos, serving as further evidence of the 'Ndrangheta's renewed presence in the country and raising questions about why he was allowed to roam free for a year after his first capture.

On June 3, Colombian security forces detained Domenico Trimboli, alias "Pasquale," on drug trafficking charges in Caldas, a town in the northwestern department of Antioquia, reported El Colombiano. His arrest came as a result of on an extradition request sent by the Italian government, reported W Radio.

According to police, Trimboli is a high-level member of the famous 'Ndrangheta mafia who maintained ties with both Colombian and Spanish drug traffickers and coordinated the purchase, storage and trafficking of drugs to Italy and other parts of Western Europe. He allegedly moved around Europe using fake identity documents.

Trimboli was first captured in April 2013 in the city of Medellin, where he allegedly worked on behalf of one of the top 'Ndrangheta leaders, Santo Scipione -- who was also arrested. He was set to be extradited to Italy where he faced a 12-year prison sentence, but was later released because the time limit for the judicial process expired.

According to Italian news source NTACalibria, the Argentine-born Trimboli has a long history operating in Italy's underworld, and was previously arrested in 1992 and 1997. He has been on the run from Italian authorities since 2009.

InSight Crime Analysis

The 'Ndrangheta mafia developed deep connections in Colombia in the 1990s, working closely with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries and building a drug trafficking empire that authorities estimate is responsible for some 80 percent of cocaine trafficked into Italy. However, as Mexican groups have come to dominate the cocaine industry, many of the Italian mafia's connections shifted north, where they have established relationships with Mexican groups such as the Zetas.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of European Organized Crime

Nonetheless, Trimboli's second arrest follows on from a number of signs the main Italian mafia groups may be showing a renewed interest in Colombia. Last year, at least three major players were arrested in the country in addition to Trimboli, among them Iacomino Tomasso of the Cosa Nostra, who has been identified as one of the main men responsible for developing the Italian mafia's Colombian networks.

Trimboli's case raises the question of why such an important figure was released once and allowed to continue operating in the country for a year after his first arrest. Prior to his April 2013 detention, he had lived in one of Medellin's wealthiest neighborhoods, and one Italian prosecutor said his money had been an important factor in allowing him to maintain operations in the country undisturbed for many years.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COCA / 20 OCT 2022

Colombian coca cultivation and potential cocaine production has hit a record high. How will this impact the government's drugs policy?…

COCAINE / 3 DEC 2021

Authorities in Panama are intercepting massive loads of cocaine at ports and in coastal waters, showing how the country is…

BOLIVIA / 3 MAR 2023

As the CITES treaty hits 50, we take a look at its successes, failures, and future challenges in reducing the…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…