The Italian mafia boss Raffaele Imperiale has chosen to share information with the judiciary, Italian media report on Tuesday. He is considered one of the most influential drug criminals in the world. Imperiale, 48, was arrested in Dubai last year and is currently being held in an Italian prison. His accomplice Bruno Carbone is also said to have made a statement. Italian media to call the choice, which may result in a reduced sentence for the criminals, “a shock for the Camorra (the Neapolitan mafia, ed.)”.
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The “king of the drug world,” according to Italian media, collaborated with criminals all over the world. Among them is the top Dutch criminal Ridouan Taghi, who is detained in prison in Vught. Imperiale’s career in drug trafficking began in Amsterdam, where he owned coffee shops, among other things. In 2016, two paintings by Vincent van Gogh were found in his villa in Italy. The works had been stolen from the Van Gogh Museum fourteen years earlier. Due to his close ties with Dutch criminals, the justice system in the Netherlands could also benefit from his information.
In 2018, Imperiale was sentenced in Italy to eight years in prison for drug trafficking and money laundering. There was no incarceration. Imperiale was in the United Arab Emirates, which has no extradition treaty with his home country. After long negotiations, he was arrested there earlier this year and extradited to Italy.