Fugitive mafia bosses arrested by Italian police after hiding in secret bunker
Two of Italy’s most dangerous mafia fugitives
were arrested by police in a secret bunker packed with automatic weapons
on Friday after being on the run for more than a decade.
Giuseppe Ferraro and Giuseppe Crea were arrested during a dramatic dawn
raid by anti-mafia police in the southern region of Calabria, the
heartland of the ‘Ndrangheta mafia.
Its entrance was concealed by bushes and trees and was only discovered by police after months of investigation.
The walls of the bunker were lined with about 20 automatic weapons, from pump-action shotguns and pistols to AK-47 assault rifles.
“They were living like animals, a life of separation and cold,” said Federico Cafiero De Raho, one of the prosecutors in the operation.
The number of weapons suggested that the gangsters were ready for “war”, said the prosecutor. “It confirms how dangerous these people are.”
Ferraro, 47, who had been sentenced to life in prison for murder and mafia association, had been on the run for 18 years.
During a feud between criminal families in 2012, his clan was allegedly behind the shooting of a rival mafia don, Domenico Bonarrigo.
Bonarrigo’s allies retaliated by beating the suspected gunman, Francesco Raccosta, with metal poles and then feeding him alive to pigs.
A gangster who was allegedly involved in the killing described it in chilling terms in a telephone conversation that was intercepted by police.
“It was satisfying to hear him scream ... Mamma Mia, how he squealed, but I couldn’t give a s---. Someone said a few bits of him remained at the end of it all, but I couldn’t see anything, for me nothing remained at all. I said, wow, how a pig can eat!” said Simone Pepe.
Crea, 37, the second fugitive caught by police in the bunker, had been convicted of mafia association and was a fugitive for a decade.
“Today is another great day for this country – justice has won once again,” said Angelino Alfano, the interior minister. “It shows that you cannot run away from justice forever.”
Rosy Bindi, an MP and the head of the national Anti-Mafia Commission, hailed the arrests as “an extraordinary result” for the police.
Both fugitives were wanted for “very serious crimes” and were believed to have been directing criminal activities from their hideout.
The large arsenal found in the bunker showed that they exerted “military control” over the local area, she said.
The ‘Ndrangheta, one of Italy’s three principal mafia organisations, makes tens of millions of pounds a year from cocaine trafficking, extortion and other crimes.
It then invests the proceeds in legitimate businesses.
The walls of the bunker were lined with about 20 automatic weapons, from pump-action shotguns and pistols to AK-47 assault rifles.
“They were living like animals, a life of separation and cold,” said Federico Cafiero De Raho, one of the prosecutors in the operation.
The number of weapons suggested that the gangsters were ready for “war”, said the prosecutor. “It confirms how dangerous these people are.”
Ferraro, 47, who had been sentenced to life in prison for murder and mafia association, had been on the run for 18 years.
During a feud between criminal families in 2012, his clan was allegedly behind the shooting of a rival mafia don, Domenico Bonarrigo.
Bonarrigo’s allies retaliated by beating the suspected gunman, Francesco Raccosta, with metal poles and then feeding him alive to pigs.
A gangster who was allegedly involved in the killing described it in chilling terms in a telephone conversation that was intercepted by police.
“It was satisfying to hear him scream ... Mamma Mia, how he squealed, but I couldn’t give a s---. Someone said a few bits of him remained at the end of it all, but I couldn’t see anything, for me nothing remained at all. I said, wow, how a pig can eat!” said Simone Pepe.
Crea, 37, the second fugitive caught by police in the bunker, had been convicted of mafia association and was a fugitive for a decade.
“Today is another great day for this country – justice has won once again,” said Angelino Alfano, the interior minister. “It shows that you cannot run away from justice forever.”
Rosy Bindi, an MP and the head of the national Anti-Mafia Commission, hailed the arrests as “an extraordinary result” for the police.
Both fugitives were wanted for “very serious crimes” and were believed to have been directing criminal activities from their hideout.
The large arsenal found in the bunker showed that they exerted “military control” over the local area, she said.
The ‘Ndrangheta, one of Italy’s three principal mafia organisations, makes tens of millions of pounds a year from cocaine trafficking, extortion and other crimes.
It then invests the proceeds in legitimate businesses.
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