Caught in a cave: two of Italy’s most-wanted men arrested



The news

Police in southern Italy have arrested two of the country’s most-wanted fugitives.

‘Ndrangheta mafia boss Giuseppe Ferraro had been on the run since 1998.

Police have been looking for Giuseppe Crea since 2006.

The men, who are 47 and 37, had been hiding out in a camouflaged bunker near the mountain town of Maropati in the region of Reggio Calabria.

Both have been convicted of a string of gangland murders and other crimes.

Crea faces 22 years in prison for mafia association; Ferraro was sentenced to life imprisonment, including for a murder conviction.

The raid was launched when the two men were asleep. No shots were fired.

Various weapons were seized in the small bunker, which also had cooking equipment and electricity.

Officers have been monitoring the site for a year.

Who are the ‘Ndrangheta?

The Calabrian word “‘Ndrangheta” derives from the Greek “ἀνδραγαθία” (andragathía) meaning “heroism” or “manly virtue” (read more)

Active in the region of Reggio Calabria since the 1860s

‘Ndrangheta drug trafficking, extortion and money-laundering is thought to account for at least 3% of Italy’s GDP (read more)

Annual revenue estimated at 35-40 bn euros (read more)

Controls 80% of Europe’s cocaine trade (read more)

Operates in numerous countries outside Europe

305 members were arrested during Operation Crimine in 2010 (read more)

What they are saying

“They were living like animals, cut off from society. But they were still controlling other gang members from the bunker.”- Prosecutor Federico Cafiero de Raho.

“They continued to control their territory with military precision”- Rosy Bindi, President of the Anti-Mafia Parliamentary Commission

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-01-30

Annual revenue estimated at 35-40 bn euros and they live in a cave like Neanderthals,,

so why the bother of being a capo tutee de capo if you have to live in a cave I want to know.....

Why did they wait a year when the police know of this ? Bribes to stay away ?

Annual revenue estimated at 35-40 bn euros and they live in a cave like Neanderthals,,

so why the bother of being a capo tutee de capo if you have to live in a cave I want to know.....

Cave was probably a bolt hole when things got tight around the town.

...is that the best they could do...a cave....???

Living in a cave.........I would rather pass my time in an Italian jail and get the sentence

over with. Really can't understand why they did not run off to Brazil.

im sure they were not living like animals... living in a cave can still be more comfortable than a Thai condo///

Bin Laden lived in a cave as well.

Mexican drug lord in a tunnel.

Seems it's the safest place to hide before you get caught.

Edited January 30, 201610 yr by stoneyboy