When the shadow of the 'Ndrangheta hangs over Lyon
JULY 20, 2023 AT 01:06 PM - UPDATED AT 14:25 BY JUDITH DARGERE
Presumed member of the 'Ndrangheta, Michelle Bellocco was arrested in Lyon. Italy requests his extradition.

Michelle Bellocco, 27, was arrested on July 11. Targeted by a European arrest warrant and alleged member of the 'Ndrangheta, a Calabrian mafia, Italy is requesting his extradition.

He was arrested during an identity check at the Perrache station by agents of the Border Police (PAF), said the zonal director of the PAF, Laurent Astruc, to AFP.

The agents would have noticed his false papers, and Michelle Bellocco was " confronted with his true identity ", according to Laurent Astruc. Italian police made contact with officers after the man called his mother in Italy.

Supposed member of the 'Ndrangheta mafia
According to Italian media, Michelle Bellocco is part of the Calabrian mafia 'Ndrangheta. This mafia is known for arms trafficking, drug trafficking, extortion, among others.

The man had escaped his house arrest in Calabria in November 2021 before he was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison for various offenses against property and persons, theft and resistance to a person holding public authority, between 2014 and 2017. He is therefore sentenced in absentia and is the subject of a European arrest warrant.

According to the Italian media, the Italian carabinieri would have sought his trace, particularly in the Lyon area, where a large Calabrian immigrant community is settled.

Bellocco, one of the most powerful Calabrian mafia families
Michel Bellocco would belong to an ' ndrine (small groups generally formed around a family, particularly powerful which exercises its activity in the fields of extortion, racketeering, arms and drug trafficking or even games of chance.

Last February, Edgardo Greco, wanted for 16 years for a double murder and also an alleged member of the 'Ndrangheta, the powerful Calabrian mafia.