Roberto Pannunzi (; born 1948), also known as ''Bebè'' (Baby), is an Italian criminal from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

linked to the

'Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a mafia-type organized crime, criminal syndicate originating from the Calabria region of Italy. Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', pp. 65–68 This body, also referred to as the Commission in reference to the ...

, a Mafia-type organisation in

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

. He is one of the top

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

brokers for the

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...

and the

with the Colombian cocaine cartels.Little-known mafia is cocaine 'king'
Los Angeles Times, 27 December 2007 He has been described as "Europe's most wanted drugs trafficker",Italian 'top mafia boss' caught in Colombia
BBC News, 6 July 2013 and the "biggest cocaine trafficker in the world", the equivalent of

Pablo Escobar Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who was the founder and leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed the "King of Cocaine", Escobar was one of the wealthie ...

, the head of the Colombian

Medellín Cartel The Medellín Cartel () was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia, that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered to be the first major ...

.Legendary cocaine trafficker Roberto Pannunzi deported to Italy
Herald Sun, 6 July 2013Italy's most wanted drug trafficker arrested in Colombia
Reuters, 6 July 2013 According to the United States

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking a ...

(DEA), the drug trafficking activities of Pannunzi have been documented for over 30 years.International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2005
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, March 2005

Early years

Pannunzi was born in Rome in 1948. His father came from Rome but his mother from Calabria, kindred with the Macrì 'Ndrangheta clan from

Siderno Siderno ( or ; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy, about 3 kilometres from Locri. Siderno Marina is the newer town located on the Ionian coast. It is a destination for both Italian ...

in Calabria.Forgione,
Mafia export
', p. 51-58Uno degli affari di Cosa Nostra e 'Ndrangheta insieme
ADUC, 30 May 2003 He is a former employee of

Alitalia Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. ...

. As a boy, he moved to Canada with his family. In

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

he became a pupil of

Antonio Macrì Antonio Macrì (; – 20 January 1975), popularly known as ("Unca Tony"), was a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. He was born in Siderno on the Ionian coast of Calabr ...

, the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta boss from Siderno.Roberto Pannunzi: il Copernico della cocaina
by

Roberto Saviano Roberto Saviano (; born 22 September 1979) is an Italian writer, journalist, and screenwriter. In his writings, including articles and his book ''Gomorrah (book), Gomorrah'', he uses literature and investigative reporting to tell of the economic ...

, La Repubblica, 7 July 2013Bebè, il boss dei due mondi re della coca che veste firmato
Corriere della Sera, 7 July 2013 While in Toronto, he met

Salvatore Miceli Salvatore Miceli (; born 12 April 1946, in Salemi) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was on the "Most wanted list" of the Italian Ministry of the Interior from 2001 until his arrest in Venezuela in June 2009. Some Mafia turncoats (pentiti) ...

, a Sicilian mafioso. They became close friends, and Pannunzi became the godfather of Miceli's firstborn. The relationship between the Calabrian and the Sicilian mafioso was also very useful for drug trafficking because of their connection in both criminal organisations.

Heroin trafficker

Back in Rome, he ran an upmarket fashion boutique, "Il Papavero" ("The

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...

"), as a cover in the 1980s when he was making his way in the poppy business.Narcos alla milanese
Corriere della Sera, 16 October 1993
AFP, 6 July 2013 In the late 1970s and 1980s he was involved in heroin trafficking with the Sicilian Mafiosi

Gaetano Badalamenti Gaetano Badalamenti (; 14 September 1923 – 29 April 2004) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. ''Don Tano'' Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s. In 1 ...

and Gerlando Alberti, organizing shipments from Turkey through Italy to the United States.Cooperation Between Organized Crime Groups Around The World
by Alison Jamieson, Jahrbuch für internationale Sicherheitspolitik 1999, December 1999 He put them in contact with Corsican gangsters from

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and convinced the chemist André Bousquet an old hand from the

French Connection The French Connection was a scheme through which heroin was smuggled from Indochina through Turkey to France and then to the United States and Canada. The operation started in the 1930s, reached its peak in the 1960s, and was dismantled in the 1 ...

days, to set up a heroin-refining lab on Sicily. He also traded heroin to the U.S. on behalf of the Mafia bosses from Palermo

Stefano Bontade Stefano Bontade (23 April 1939 – 23 April 1981), born Stefano Bontate, was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the boss of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo. He was also known as the ''Principe di Villagrazia'' (Prince of ...

and

Salvatore Inzerillo Salvatore Inzerillo (; 20 August 1944 – 11 May 1981) was an Italian member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio (a diminutive for Salvatore). He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family. A prolific heroin traffic ...

. In 1989, Pannunzi was not involved in setting up a heroin lab near

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

in northern Italy together with the Barbaro and Sergi 'Ndrangheta clans from

Platì Platì (; ) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria, southern Italy. It rises above sea level on the slope of the Aspromonte mountains and is located next to the Aspromonte National Park. History P ...

. The lab was discovered on 21 May 1990, in a farmhouse

Valsecca Valsecca was a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northwest of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 411 and an area of .All demogr ...

, while French Connection chemists Alain Mazza and Gilles Pairone were refining 20 kilograms of heroin. Pannunzi was one of the first to understand that there was a lot more money to be made with cocaine, which was rapidly becoming the new drug of choice among the affluent. He set up a very profitable deal, trading 1 kilogram of heroin for 25 kilograms of cocaine in the U.S. using the differences in availability on both markets. As a result of the police dismantling the operation, an arrest warrant was issued against Pannunzi for drug trafficking and criminal association.

Moving to Colombia

Pannunzi started to contact Colombian traffickers in Venezuela,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. He moved to Colombia where he would become one of the most important cocaine brokers for both the

and the Calabrian

with the Colombian cocaine cartels. According to the deputy chief prosecutor in

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

Nicola Gratteri Nicola Gratteri (born 1958) is an Italian prosecutor. He grew up in southern Italy and after he witnessed the brutal methods of the 'Ndrangheta mafia group, he resolved to work against them. After studying for a law degree, he became a prosecutor ...

, Pannunzi would become "the only one who can sell both to the 'Ndrangheta and to Cosa Nostra. He is definitely the most powerful drug broker in the world".Cocaine Mafia boss arrested in Colombia
Channel 4 News, 6 July 2013 According to crime writer

, he traded cocaine to rival Italian crime families: "He collected money from the various families, often rival families." At the height of his criminal career, he was trading 1,500 to 2,000 kilograms of cocaine a month. On a tapped phone, he was overheard boasting of the ease and confidence with which he handled his Colombian suppliers. To reinforce the bonds with his Colombian suppliers, Pannunzi arranged his son Alessandro Pannunzi's marriage with a notorious family from the

First arrest, in Colombia

He was first arrested on January 28, 1994, in Medellin, Colombia, while attending the funeral of a Colombian friend.Cae enlace de mafia italiana
El Tiempo, January 29, 1994Un brusco risveglio
Narcomafie, September 2007 He had tried to bribe the policeman who arrested him offering one million US dollars. When he was visited in prison by an Italian police officer he boasted about the huge investments in property and precious stones in Canada, Australia, Medellin and Rome. He had unrestricted use of a cellular phone throughout the year he spent in prison in Colombia before his

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

to Italy, and hence was able to continue his business. Pannunzi was extradited to Italy in December 1994, but managed to escape in 1998 taking advantage of a temporary medical release. The next day he was on the run.Relazione conclusiva
Commissione parlamentare d’inchiesta sul fenomeno della criminalità organizzata mafiosa o similare, January 2006 He became a fugitive based in Colombia. In 1999, he was included in the

list of most wanted fugitives in Italy The list of most wanted fugitives in Italy is a most wanted list published by the Italian Interior Ministry. It includes criminals who are considered extremely dangerous by the Polizia di Stato. The list was started in July 1992. There are also l ...

Second arrest, in Spain

He was arrested again on 5 April 2004, in

, Spain, together with his son Alessandro Pannunzi and his right-hand man and son-in-law Francesco Antonio Bumbaca, married with his daughter Simona.Detenidos en Majadahonda tres miembros de la mafia calabresa
El Mundo, 5 April 2004 The arrests completed an investigation, known as Operation Igres, that resulted in a total of 42 arrests in three countries. In 2001 and 2002, the organization arranged shipments of over eight tons of cocaine from Colombia to be distributed to Italian crime groups in Europe. The extended network operated in Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Portugal, Spain, Greece, South Africa, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. "Every important criminal figure went to him," according to Diego Trotta, a member of an elite police squad that captured Pannunzi. Pannunzi was working with the 'Ndrangheta from the town of Platì, notably Paolo Sergi and Pasquale Marando, and

, a Sicilian Mafia boss based in Venezuela with links to Giuseppe Guttadauro from the Mafia family from Brancaccio in Palermo. In 2010, he managed to escape from a private hospital in Rome, where he was being treated for heart disease.Italian 'mafia boss' captured: Europe's most wanted drugs trafficker arrested in Colombia
The Independent, 6 July 2013

Third arrest, in Colombia

On 5 July 2013, he was captured again in a shopping mall in Bogota, in a joint operation between the Colombian police and the DEA. He was immediately

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...

to Italy to prevent a lengthy extradition procedure, to serve a -year sentence in Italy. "He is the biggest cocaine importer in the world", said Nicola Gratteri, deputy chief prosecutor in Reggio Calabria, when he was detained. "He is the only one who can organise purchases and sales of cocaine shipments of 3,000 kilos and up." According to crime writer Saviano, "he was a sort of

Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

of cocaine. He changed the way the business works, he understood the new dynamics of the cocaine market."

References

* Forgione, Francesco (2009).
Mafia export: Come ’Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra e Camorra hanno colonizzato il mondo
', Milan: Baldini Castoldi Dalai editore {{DEFAULTSORT:Pannunzi, Roberto Living people 1948 births 'Ndranghetisti Italian drug traffickers Canadian gangsters Canadian people of Italian descent Italian emigrants to Canada People extradited from Colombia People extradited to Italy Organized crime in Toronto