Dan Robson
Staff Reporter
A man identified by Italian investigators as one of the kings of international drug trafficking was arrested in Markham on Thursday, after allegedly living illegally in Canada for the last three years.
Giuseppe Coluccio, 41 – one of Italy's most wanted men and a suspected leader of the 'Ndrangheta Mafia – was living in a condo on Toronto's downtown lakeshore, said RCMP Sgt. Marc LaPorte.
Italian news media reported that about $1 million in readily-negotiable travellers cheques was found hidden behind a wardrobe in Coluccio's condo after his arrest.
On Thursday, the RCMP followed Coluccio from his condo to a strip mall in Markham where they executed a "high risk" takedown and arrest just before 1 p.m., said LaPorte.
Coluccio has been on the run from Italian authorities since 2005, when he evaded arrest in a sting operation in southern Italy.
Coluccio had been living in Canada under an alias, which LaPorte would not disclose. He is considered to be a key player in organizing cocaine and heroin traffic from South America to Europe.
Italian investigators have declared him one of the country's 30 most dangerous fugitives.
The Italian media reports suggest Coluccio continued to run his drug empire in Italy while in Toronto.
He allegedly has connections to the C-u-n-trera-Caruana Sicilian drug dealing family– some of whom are believed to also be hiding from authorities in Toronto.
Italy's defence minister, Ignazio La Russa, said the arrest showed authorities were making advances in the fight against organized crime.
"Coluccio had lived happily in Canada thanks to the (support) provided by the Calabrian clans – a situation that shows the extraordinary reach of the 'Ndrangheta," said public prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone.
'Ndrangheta, based in the southern Calabria region, has reportedly overtaken Sicily's Cosa Nostra to become the most powerful Italian crime group.
"Canada is traditionally a strong base for the 'Ndrangheta," says organized crime expert Antonio Nicaso. "Canada is the right place to deal with narcotics. Montreal is the main port of entrance for narcotics in North America, and in Canada they can control that major point of entry. Toronto specifically is an important base for 'Ndrangheta.
"Ndrangheta is on the rise and it is second to none, with a lot of influence in Italy, Europe and worldwide. It is the only one that has investment in cocaine production in Columbia ... They're the most powerful criminal organization worldwide."
Last month Michele Modica, a mobster who was the intended target of a shooting that left North York mother Louise Russo paralyzed in 2004, was arrested in Sicily.
Italian special operations and Canada's Immigration Task Force collaborated in 2006, leading to a nationwide immigration warrant for Coluccio's arrest, said LaPorte.
Coluccio's arrest was praised by Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day. In a statement, he applauded the work of the Immigration Task Force, which is headed by the RCMP and includes officers from the OPP, Toronto police, and the Canadian Border Services Agency.
Coluccio is being held in RCMP custody on an immigration warrant, and will appear at an admissibility hearing on Monday.
With files from Reuters
http://www.thestar.com/article/475221I'm glad they got the guy, but its somewhat unsettling that the takedown took place in Markham of which Thornhill (where I live) is a part of.
