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Arrested drug trafficker in Lebanon, wanted by 4 prosecutors. Blocked by the Guardia di Finanza. He had been on the run since October 2022
The Guardia di Finanza arrested in Lebanon the fugitive Bartolo Bruzzaniti, a native of Locri (Reggio Calabria), considered one of the most important drug traffickers at an international level.
Bruzzaniti was wanted by four prosecutors, those of Reggio Calabria, Milan, Genoa and Naples, under the coordination of the national anti-mafia and anti-terrorism prosecutor.
Since October 2022, in particular, he had escaped arrest as part of the “Levante” operation coordinated by the Dda of Reggio Calabria which had involved a total of 36 people.
The arrest of Bruzzaniti, who is 46 years old, was carried out by the financiers of the Provincial Command of Reggio Calabria, with the coordination of the Reggio Dda, directed by Giovanni Bombardieri, “at the conclusion – it is said in a press release – of detailed investigations of judicial police carried out with the support of the most important European and international institutions and agencies involved in the fight against transnational crimes, within the I-CAN (Interpol Cooperation Against ‘Ndrangheta) project”.
During the investigations that led to the “Levante” operation, conducted by the Gico of the Reggio Calabria economic and financial police unit, over 4 tons of cocaine were seized, for an estimated value of 800 million euros. Bruzzaniti would be responsible for planning and carrying out a vast traffic of narcotic substances, from South America to Calabria, consisting of periodic imports of over 2 tons each. Also involved in the “Levante” operation was Bruzzaniti’s brother, Antonio, who was also untraceable at first and was subsequently arrested by the Gico of Reggio Calabria on his return from the Ivory Coast, the country in which he had settled. Bartolo Bruzzaniti was tracked down, thanks to the complex investigative apparatus set up internationally for his capture, in a restaurant in Jounieh. Bruzzaniti is the last of the 76 members of organized crime, including 35 fugitives, whom the “I-CAN” project has made it possible to arrest all over the world in three years.
