Italian man identified as top crime boss arrested in Madrid

5 August 2021, 15:14

Domenico Paviglianiti
Spain Italy Arrest. Picture: PA

Domenico Paviglianiti, 60, was named as the leader of the Calabrian-based ’ndrangheta crime syndicate.

A fugitive Italian man identified as a leader of what is believed to be one of the world’s wealthiest criminal organisations has been arrested in Madrid, Spanish and Italian police said on Thursday.

Italy’s Carabinieri identified the man as Domenico Paviglianiti, 60, a leader of the Calabrian-based ’ndrangheta crime syndicate.

Paviglianiti was arrested in a joint operation with the Carabinieri, Spain’s National Police said in a statement. Italian prosecutors said the arrest took place Tuesday.

Paviglianiti was carrying fake Portuguese identity papers, six mobile phones and 6,000 euros (£5,100) in cash when he was arrested, according to the Spanish statement.

Police believe Paviglianiti is the head of a ’ndrangheta clan named for him, which operates around the world from its base in three villages in Italy’s Calabria region.

Paviglianiti was sentenced in absentia in January to 11 years, eight months and 15 days in prison for a series of crimes, including murder and criminal association with the aim of drug trafficking.

He had previously been sentenced in Italy to life in prison, reduced later to 30 years, for a series of murders and trafficking offenses dating from the 1980s.

But he was freed in October 2019 due to an error in calculating his sentence, prosecutors said.

He fled to Spain where he allegedly has had the help and protection of drug-trafficking associates.

The ’ndrangheta crime syndicate has amassed power as the Sicilian Mafia has declined.

Investigators say it has used tens of billions of dollars in cocaine revenue to extend its criminal reach and branched out into the rest of Europe, Australia, North and South America and Africa.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris

Biden levies new sanctions against Russian energy sector

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro sworn in for third term

President-elect Donald Trump appears with his lawyer Todd Blanche on a video feed

Judge sentences Trump in hush money case but declines to impose any punishment

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest in December in Phoenix

Trump appears virtually in New York court to be sentenced in hush money case

President-elect Donald Trump

Kremlin welcomes possibility of meeting between Trump and Putin

Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles

Firefighters hoping for break from fierce winds that have fuelled LA wildfires

Joe Biden speaks alongside Kamala Harris during a briefing on the response to the wildfires

Joe Biden tells Kamala Harris to 'fire away' in awkward moment during briefing on LA wildfires

California Wildfires Photo Gallery

Death toll from Los Angeles-area fires rises to 10

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida

Trump to be sentenced in hush money case days before return to White House

Paris Hilton said she was devastated at the loss of her Malibu beach house

'The heartbreak is truly indescribable': Paris Hilton returns to charred remains of her Malibu beach house

A man has been detained on suspicion of lighting the latest Kenneth Fire

LA arson suspect arrested as investigation launched into Kenneth Fire

Trump

Appeals court denies bid to block public release of Trump January 6 probe

APTOPIX California Wildfires

New LA-area fire prompts more evacuations with more than 10,000 structures lost

Trump

Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to delay sentencing in New York hush money case

The US Supreme Court has rejected Trump’s last-minute attempt to delay his sentencing on Friday for his hush money case.

US Supreme Court rejects Trump's last-minute bid to delay sentencing in hush money case

French President Emmanuel Macron cuts the Epiphany cake after his speech to the French Bakery and Pastry Federation members during the traditional Epiphany cake ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool via AP)

French council accused of ‘destroying’ country's Christian heritage over 'pagan' pastry