MAFIA FUGITIVE RETURNED TO ITALY FROM SPAIN: COPS

Rome, May 15: A major Italian mafia fugitive who controlled cocaine routes within Europe has been returned by authorities to Rome from Spain, police said on Saturday.

Giuseppe Romeo, 35, arrived at Fiumicino Airport under escort from Barcelona Friday night, following his March 11 arrest on a European arrest warrant after three years on the run, police said in a statement.

Romeo is accused of being a top member of an international drug network run by three 'Ndrangheta clans based in the Reggio Calabria area of the southern Italian region of Calabria.

The 'Ndrangheta is Italy's most powerful mafia group, involved in nearly all areas of criminal activity beyond drug trafficking and extortion, whose operations extend throughout Europe and beyond.

According to an Italian police statement, Romeo, who lived in Germany, “promoted, organised and financed trafficking of cocaine in Europe”.