Crime

Piantedosi in Lyon from Interpol, summit on the I-Can project: this is how the fugitive bosses of the global 'ndrangheta fell

The Minister of the Interior at Interpol headquarters with Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza. Cooperation between police forces, drug trafficking and illicit assets on the table. In six years 176 'ndranghetists arrested in over thirty countries, 73 only in 2025

by Ivan Cimmarusti

11 May 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The Lyon Summit on the I-Can Project
'Ndrangheta in Colombia: the axis with the Gulf Clan
Who are Palermo, Gregorini and Starnone
Silver Notice and illicit assets: the second phase
The Buenos Aires workshop on global mafias

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The 'ndrangheta is arrested in Bogotà, at the exit of a supermarket, where the Colombian special forces have arrested Giuseppe Palermo, called "Peppe", referent of the Platì clan with the South American narcos. He is arrested in Cartagena de Indias, in a thirty-storey skyscraper, where Emanuele Gregorini, "Dollarino", linked to the system of alliances between Cosa Nostra, Camorra and 'ndrangheta that emerged from the "Hydra" investigation, was captured. In Cali, where Federico Starnone, originally from Locri, an intermediary between the Platì groups and the Colombian and Ecuadorian narcos, ended up in handcuffs.

Three captures in Colombia, three segments of the same supply chain: Calabrian clans, brokers, South American cartels, loads of cocaine and routes to Europe. Palermo, Gregorini and Starnone are included in the numbers of I-Can, the Viminale and Interpol network which, in six years, has contributed to the arrest of 176 'ndranghetists in more than thirty countries, including 68 fugitives. Since 2025 alone, there have been 73 arrests.

The Lyon Summit on the I-Can Project

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi discussed this at Interpol's Lyon headquarters with Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza. On the table were police cooperation, drug trafficking, biometric identification and illicit assets. At the centre, I-Can, Interpol Cooperation Against 'Ndrangheta.

The project was set up in June 2020 by the Viminale Department of Public Security and the Interpol General Secretariat. Italia puts resources, investigative method and knowledge of the cosche. Interpol puts in the global network.

Today, I-Can has 25 adhering Countries, approximately 2,500 trained investigators and a database, the Interpol Criminal Analytical File, fed by over 75 thousand entities connected to the 'ndrangheta. An operative map that links clans, brokers, fugitives, cocaine routes, front men and assets.

'Ndrangheta in Colombia: the axis with the Gulf Clan

South America is the most sensitive quadrant. Colombia remains the decisive platform for cocaine trafficking to Europe. The 'ndrangheta has built stable relations with the Gulf Clan, the main Colombian criminal organisation with 7,500 affiliates, and with Ecuadorian and Peruvian groups.

Calabrian clans do not just buy drugs. They guarantee payments, select suppliers, garrison maritime and land routes. In this chain, the fugitives are hubs: they keep relations, negotiate consignments, keep the channel open between cosche and narcos.

Who are Palermo, Gregorini and Starnone

Giuseppe 'Peppe' Palermo, for the Dda of Reggio Calabria, was the liaison man between the Trimboli clan and the Colombian narcos. The director of the Policia Nacional, General Carlos Triana, defined him as 'the supreme head of the Italian mafia in Latin America', capable of guiding the purchase of loads of cocaine in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador and controlling the routes to Europe.

Emanuele 'Dollarino' Gregorini, arrested in the 'Armagedon' blitz, is one of the names in the Milan 'Hydra' investigation: the welding together of different mafia groups in the management of cocaine flows from Colombia, Panama and Brazil.

Federico Starnone, captured with the support of Policia Nacional drones, falls in the same direction: Locride, Platì, relations with Colombian and Ecuadorian narcos.

The work on Colombia had already produced results in October 2024, with the captures in Medellín of Luigi Belvedere, known as 'The Colombian', and Gustavo Nocella, alias 'Ermes', a link between the Neapolitan clans Rinaldi-Formicola, Amato-Pagano and De Micco and the Gulf Clan. Italia has requested his extradition.

Silver Notice and illicit assets: the second phase

The second phase of I-Can looks at assets. Arresting a fugitive interrupts a criminal function. Following the money affects the structure: shell companies, front men, cryptocurrencies, real estate, businesses.

In Lyon, the Silver Notice, the Interpol tool promoted by Italia to trace illicit assets according to the logic of follow-the-money, the investigative intuition of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, was discussed. The discussion also included Identity, the initiative developed at the instigation of the Viminale to strengthen biometric identification and prevent the infiltration of terrorists in migration flows.

The Buenos Aires workshop on global mafias

The last operational step was held from 27 to 29 April 2026 in Buenos Aires: 35 detectives from twelve countries, Italian investigators from the Police, Carabinieri, Guardia di finanza, Direzione investigativa antimafia a and Dcsa, focused on the relations between 'ndrangheta and more than thirty local gangs, from the Brazilian Primeiro Comando da Capital to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua, up to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación.

The 'ndrangheta remains Calabrian in its family structure, but operates as a global network. It buys drugs, makes alliances, invests capital, uses digital technologies. I-Can serves to reduce the advantage that the clans have built by moving before and better than states across borders. From supermarkets in Bogotá to assets to chase around the world, the game is all international.