MADRID – Domenico Paviglianiti, known as ‘the boss of bosses’ of the ‘Ndrangheta in the 80s and 90s was arrested in Madrid. He was enjoying a quiet life in Madrid following two years on the run from Italian authorities.
In a joint operation, Spanish and Italian police arrested 60-year-old Domenico Paviglianiti, Italian mafia boss. He was wanted by Italy’s authorities for countless crimes. Furthermore, it is believed he was the instigator of over 125 murders.
Organised crime syndicate
Paviglianiti, is thought to be head of one of the clans of the ‘Ndrangheta. Based in Calabria, southern Italian, the ´Ndrangheta is an organised crime syndicate. It controls much of the cocaine trade in Europe. The ‘Nrangheta is one of the world’s biggest and wealthiest criminal gangs.
“Most wanted”
“Paviglianiti is among the top three “most wanted” in Italy. Pavigliniati’s crimes allegedly go back to the days of clan warfare between 1985-1991 that resulted in around 700 deaths.
However, this is not the first arrest in Spain for the Paviglianiti. In 1996, he was previously held in Madrid as part of an operation that brought down 16 other members of his organisation. He was then extradited to Italy to serve time for various crimes, including murder and drug trafficking. However, he was mistakenly released early in October 2019.
Barcelona
Investigators immediately looked to Spain, where Paviglianiti had been active in the 1980s and 90s. They initially focused their search on Barcelona as one of his daughters has been known to visit from time to time. However, when this was not successful, they turned their attention to Madrid.
Arrested in Madrid
Paviglianiti was traced to an apartment in the Cuatro Caminos area of Madrid. He was then put under surveillance for some days to confirm it was in fact, Paviglianiti. Although he was found to be living a normal, unassuming life, he was in fact confirmed to be the mafia boss.
When police arrested him on the street near his home, he did not resist as you can see by the official police footage shared on Twitter.
🚩Agentes de la @policia han detenido en #Madrid al máximo responsable de la Ndrangueta calabresa
Han intervenido:
🔸Documentación portuguesa falsa
🔸6 teléfonos móviles
🔸Casi 6.000€ en efectivoEs considerado uno de los prófugos más buscados de #Italia pic.twitter.com/di47ZHSd2F
— Policía Nacional (@policia) August 5, 2021
