Guiseppe Coluccio, 41, landed in Rome Wednesday and was taken to an unnamed top-security prison. Italian authorities convicted him on drugs, weapons and conspiracy charges in absentia after he disappeared from Italy in 2005. The prosecution alleged he was part of the ‘Ndrangheta mafia that controlled maritime drug traffic along a 40-mile stretch of southern Italian coast.
The Calabrian-based 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate is one of Italy’s most violent and powerful organized crime groups with revenue of more than $50 billion in 2007, according to Italian anti-organized crime agencies.
Living in Canada for only a few years under an assumed name, Coluccio was living a luxurious life outside the city of Toronto when he was arrested at a strip mall on Aug. 7. He lived in a high-end condominium overlooking Lake Ontario and had a team of drivers for his Range Rover, Porsche Cayenne and Ferrari. His daily schedule involved meetings at a variety of clubs and cafes with men whom police have named as the top echelon of organized crime in Ontario.
Police began monitoring Coluccio and his fugitive brother, Salvatore, who also fled to Canada, in 2006. Salvatore has again fled, but Guiseppe Coluccio was arrested in the suburb of Markham earlier this month on immigration charges. Coluccio did not contest his ineligibility to be in Canada at his immigration hearing, which stems from a drug conviction in 1993. Canadian authorities ruled that his alleged ties to organized crime made him a danger and kept him in custody until he was deported from Canada on Tuesday.
Stockwell Day, Canada’s minister of public safety, thanked the Canada Border Services Agency for swiftly removing Coluccio from the country.
This is a great example of Canada’s ability to coordinate efforts to combat transnational organized crime,” he said in an Aug. 20 statement. “As I have stated before, Canada is not a safe haven for individuals who have gained admission to Canada by concealing their involvement in serious and organized crime.”
