In a major international takedown, authorities have arrested a suspected high-ranking member of Italy’s notorious ’Ndrangheta mafia in Colombia. Giuseppe Palermo, known by the alias “Peppe,” was captured in Bogotá during a joint sting operation involving Colombian, Italian, and British police, along with Europol.
Palermo had been on the run and was wanted globally under an Interpol red notice, placing him on a watchlist across 196 countries.
According to officials, Palermo wasn’t just another name in the organization… he allegedly played a key leadership role in the mafia’s Latin American operations, overseeing large-scale cocaine purchases in Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. Police say he also managed the drug routes that smuggled narcotics into European markets, both by sea and land.
Carlos Fernando Triana, head of Colombia’s national police, described Palermo as part of one of the mafia’s “most tightly connected cells.” He shared the news on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting the significant impact of Palermo’s arrest on international drug trafficking operations.
The bust comes as the global cocaine trade surges. The United Nations recently reported that cocaine production hit a record high in 2023… 3,708 tons… up nearly 34% from the year before, with Colombia remaining the epicenter of coca leaf cultivation.
Palermo’s arrest marks a significant blow to the global narcotics underworld, especially the expanding influence of the ’Ndrangheta, one of Italy’s most powerful and secretive criminal syndicates.
