Brasilia, May 25, 2022 – The first section of the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil has confirmed extradition to Italy of the drug trafficker of the ‘Ndrangheta Rocco Morabito, one of the most wanted criminals in the world. This was reported by Agência Brasil. The boss Morabito had been arrested in May last year by the Federal Police to João Pessoa and then transferred to the Federal Penitentiary of Brasilia, where he has been detained ever since.
The same highest court had already approved the extradition in March, but yesterday reiterated its decision rejecting an appeal defense lawyers who had argued that the proceedings were illegal. The judges unanimously voted to reject the application. Now the federal government will be in charge of handing over the boss to the Italian authorities. In the ruling, the Supreme Court reminded the Italian authorities that certain requirements of Brazilian law must be respected, such as the removal from a possible sentence of detention served in Brazil and the application of a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. In Italy Morabito has been repeatedly sentenced for a total of over 100 years of imprisonment for cases of international drug trafficking: in particular he must serve sentences imposed on him by the Courts of Appeal of Palermo, Milano e Reggio Calabria and made definitive by the confirmation by the Court of Cassation.
Rocco Morabitoborn in 1966, originally from Africois a head of the ‘Ndrangheta of the highest standard and was the second most wanted fugitive in Italy (after Matteo Messina Denaro) before his capture. He became known internationally during the 1990s when he was accused of having transported to Italy 500-600 kilos of cocaine on two occasions. Not by chance, at the time they defined it the cocaine king of Milan. Morabito managed to escape to South America, from where he ran a gigantic drug trade to Italy under the false identity of Francisco Antonio Capeletto Souza. The boss was caught (first time) in 2017 in Uruguay after 23 years in hiding. In 2019 the appellate court in Uruguay has already authorized extradation to Italy, but a few days before its surrender to the Italian authorities managed to escape along with three other inmates. He was eventually arrested again on May 24, 2021, this time in Brazilin a joint operation that saw the participation of the Federal Police, the Ros (Special Operational Group), the Scip (International Police Cooperation Service), the FBI and the Dea.