Colombian police captured on Tuesday alias “El Gordo,” whose ties to the Italian mafia shed light on the traffic of cocaine from Colombia to Europe.
Juan Carlos “El Gordo” Davila Bonilla was arrested in Colombia’s capital of Bogota, and was allegedly involved in shipping large amounts of cocaine to Italy. His chief Italian collaborator, Iacomino Tommaso, had links to the mafias in Sicily and Palermo. Tommaso was arrested in February, also in Bogota.
MORE: Colombia authorities arrest man with connections to Italian mafia
El Gordo ran a powerful criminal network and accumulated substantial personal wealth, according to Bogota police. The international jewelery business he operated with his wife served as a facade for his criminal earnings.
Based on the information released so far, it appears El Gordo handled the logistics of the operation in Colombia, working independently and purchasing the services and protection of the powerful neo-paramilitary organization, “Los Urabeños,” Insight Crime reported.
Sources
- Cayó en Bogotá otro integrante de la mafia siciliana (Policia National de Colombia)
- Police Arrest Link Between Colombian Traffickers, Italian Mafia (Insight Crime)
- EU Drug Markets Reports (Europol)
