The ex-president of Italy’s anti-mafia commission said that Italian mob members are living and working in Colombia, El Tiempo reports.
Former Chairman Francesco Forgione said that members of “‘Ndranghteta” currently thought to be the world’s most powerful Italian organized crime syndicate, are living in Colombia and using the country as a base for illegal activity.
“The men of ‘Ndrangteta have endless amounts of money and have been living in a stable manner in Colombia for years,” said Forgione.
Forgione made the connection between ‘Ndrangteta and Colombia in his book “Mafia Export” which was published in 2009.
According to Forgione, Italian crime syndicates rule over an empire that makes $168 billion. Forgione further claimed that the current mob is largely devoted to laundering money. He urged Colombia to adopt stricter legislation to combat the drug trade and money laundering.