Lebanon hands over Italian suspect linked to major cocaine smuggling case

Lebanese authorities handed Italian national Bartolo Prozaniti (48 years old) to Italy on Thursday.

He is believed to be a prominent member of a criminal organization and is wanted in connection with a large-scale cocaine smuggling case, according to a judicial official as reported by Agence France-Presse.

Lebanese security forces arrested Bartolo Prozaniti at the beginning of last month in Lebanon, based on a red notice issued by Interpol in October 2022 at the request of Italian authorities.

The Lebanese judicial official stated that a patrol affiliated with the Lebanese General Security transferred the wanted individual, who is "actively involved in international cocaine smuggling," to Rafik Hariri International Airport, where he was handed over to an Italian security mission that flew him to Rome on a private plane.

According to the same source, the handover operation resulted from negotiations that lasted more than two weeks between the Lebanese and Italian authorities to arrange the extradition process.

The source clarified that Prozaniti "declared before the examining magistrate in Beirut that he agreed to be extradited to his country for trial there."

Security forces arrested Prozaniti at a restaurant in the Jounieh area, north of Beirut, after his entry visa to Lebanon had expired. 

According to the judicial source, Prozaniti moved between hotels and Lebanese acquaintances during his stay in Lebanon, including three individuals pursued for drug-related cases in an African country.

Interpol announced that Prozaniti's arrest is the 76th of a suspected member of the 'Ndrangheta organization, one of the world's largest organized crime networks, due to its control over a significant portion of the cocaine trafficking operations smuggled into Europe.

Italian media reported that Prozaniti had evaded arrest in a drug trafficking case following the seizure of more than four tons of cocaine worth $800 million.



AFP