Italian police arrest ’Ndrangheta mafia boss after five years on the run

Italian authorities have announced the arrest of a top boss of the 'Ndrangheta mafia after he spent almost five years on the run.

Pasquale Bonavota, 49, who featured on the police's list of most dangerous criminals, had been sought since November 2018 after escaping an arrest warrant for homicide and mafia association issued by a magistrate in Calabria, southern Italy.

He was arrested on Thursday morning in the northern port city of Genoa, carabinieri officers said. Local media said Bonavota was leaving the city's cathedral when he was arrested and was carrying a fake ID.

Bonavota is considered the brains of the 'Ndrangheta's Bonavota clan, which includes his two brothers, based in the Sant'Onofrio area of the Calabrian province of Vibo Valentia.

The clan also operates around Rome and in the northern regions of Piedmont and Liguria, which includes Genoa.

The 'Ndrangheta is Italy's most powerful and wealthy mafia, controlling the bulk of cocaine flowing into Europe. It operates in more than 40 countries.

It has successfully expanded well beyond its traditional domains of drug trafficking and loan sharking, now using shell companies and frontmen to reinvest illegal gains in the legitimate economy.