An Italian criminal, a member of the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta mafia and a fugitive for many years, has been arrested in Bali, Indonesia, Italian authorities announced Wednesday.
Antonio Strangio, 32, a member of the Strangio clan, was the target of a police operation eight years ago but took refuge in Australia in 2016, the Italian carabinieri said in a statement. Having obtained Australian nationality, he could not be extradited, according to the same source, which specifies that he is accused of “manufacturing and selling drugs.”
He was the subject of a red notice issued by Interpol at the request of the Italian police, but the member countries of this international organization apply their own law to decide whether or not to agree to such a request for provisional arrest with a view to possible extradition.
However, his movements were monitored and when he was traveling to Bali, he was arrested at the airport of this tourist island on February 2, information that was only made public this Wednesday.
43 fugitives from this mafia arrested in three years
“Forty-three ‘Ndrangheta fugitives arrested around the world in three years: the ‘Ndrangheta is cornered both in Italy and abroad,” Vittorio Rizzi, central director of Italy’s criminal police, said in a statement.
“All the criminals who, starting from Calabria, have infiltrated the economies of more than 40 European and extra-European countries with corruption and illegal trafficking, will be quickly arrested,” Rizzi promised.
The arrest of this fugitive was possible thanks to the I-can project (Interpol Cooperation against the ‘Ndrangheta), to which 13 countries adhere, the statement said. On Thursday, another member of the ‘Ndrangheta was arrested in Saint-Etienne, in central-eastern France, after 16 years on the run, also as part of the I-can project.
Source: BFM TV
