An Italian national who has been living in Kenya illegally was quietly deported last week
An Italian national who has been living in Kenya illegally was quietly deported last week in a top-level security operation following allegations that he had links with the dreaded Mafia.
The Sunday Nation has established that Giovanni De Caro, 70, who security agencies associate with the Milan branch of the international criminal network, was deported on Tuesday after living in Malindi illegally for the last three months. This was his second deportation from Kenya.
On Saturday, Interior and Coordination Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku confirmed that he had signed the deportation order.
“He was deported this week. It is important that we protect ourselves, our children and our country from these kinds of people,” Mr Lenku said.
Malindi is a favourite of Italian investors and tourists, earning it the nickname “Little Italy”. The foreigners largely live by their own rules and impose Italian culture.
De Caro has been a fugitive in Kenya following alleged differences with the Mafia in Italy. He was first deported from Kenya in June 2012 after a Malindi court declared him persona non-grata (an unwelcome person) for his alleged involvement in fraud, forgery and organised crime.
He was also found to have been residing in Kenya illegally since his arrival in 1992. After deportation to Italy, De Caro was jailed for one-and-a- half years by Italian authorities for economic crimes.
Police said that upon completion of his jail term, De Caro flew back to Kenya on February 19 this year and landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. He remained at the JKIA lounge for two days from where he contacted his Kenyan lawyers.
But security sources say De Caro supposedly fell ill at the lounge and sought medical attention.
“His lawyer was able to obtain court orders allowing the subject entry to Kenya for medical attention; thus De Caro was allowed back in,” said a source.
However, De Caro is said to have later travelled to Malindi in unclear circumstances, and allegedly continued operating his hotel business.
De Caro was previously associated with Malindi’s Oasis Village, which has since changed name and ownership.
According to close associates who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Italian had tried to sneak back to Kenya through Mombasa International Airport last November but was re-routed back to Italy.
BANNED FROM HOLDING OFFICE
According to information from Italian court documents, De Caro had been banned from holding any public office in Italy after being found guilty of fraud.
It is said he was among a group that, in 1990, formed a pyramid scheme that defrauded thousands of people of their money before escaping to Kenya.
The scheme, known as Network Florentine, brought together 15 companies and had at least 3,000 members before collapsing in 1991, with the directors making away with shareholders’ money.
Sources within the Italian community in Malindi said that De Caro was feared in the coastal town, with some alleging he may have been a high-ranking Mafia operative in the region. He is even claimed to have intimidated other investors.
“He told me recently that he is back and that I should prepare for the worst, insisting that he would kill me,” said an Italian investor in the hospitality industry, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The alleged presence of the Mafia in the Malindi underworld has long been suspected, but with little evidence. Foreign fugitives are also thought to hide among genuine investors who have pumped billions of shillings into Malindi’s economy.
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