Crotone: A man accused of leading an illegal immigration ring has been extradited to Italy. He was arrested at Fiumicino Airport.

La State Police, in a complex international cooperation operation, executed an order of pre-trial detention in prison against a Iraqi citizen deemed the promoter and leader of a Turkish cell of the criminal association aimed at facilitation of illegal immigration and riciclaggio di denaro.

The operation was conducted jointly by Mobile Squad of the Crotone Police Headquarters, from Central Operations Service (SCO), from Service for International Police Cooperation and by 'Fiumicino Air Border Police Officeunder the coordination of District Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA) of Catanzaro.

The restrictive measure was issued by the GIP of the Court of Catanzaro, in the context of the note Operation “Karonte”, which had previously already led to the arrest of 29 Guests belonging to a transnational criminal network active between the Türkiye, Calabria and Sicily, dedicated to organizing illegal migrant journeys and laundering the proceeds.

According to the investigations – still in the preliminary phase and subject to procedural verification – the man would have held a top role within the organization, with the task of manage cash flows deriving from illicit activities. The sums, originating from payments made by migrants for crossings to Italy, were moved through travel agencies and informal transfer systems, as the money transfer , Hawala, both based in Türkiye.

Many migrants have the man was recognized including “main contact person” of the organization, responsible for the agencies where the payment transactions for the clandestine journey were finalized. The suspect had managed to to escape capture during the original blitz of Operation “Karonte”. After months of investigations and international cooperation activities, it was located in the United Arab Emirates.

Thanks to the collaboration between the Service for International Police Cooperation and local authorities, Was extradited to Italy e arrested at Fiumicino airport. The man is now confined in prison available toJudicial authority, who will proceed with the preliminary hearing in the next few days.