Italian 'mafia boss' extradited

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One of Italy's most-wanted fugitives and the alleged head of the Calabrian mafia, the 'Ndrangheta, has been extradited to Rome from Canada.

Giuseppe Coluccio, 42, was arrested on 7 August in Toronto, where he was living in a luxury flat.

Mr Coluccio, who is accused of mafia association, extortion and drug trafficking, arrived at Rome's Ciampino airport early on Wednesday.

He has been to taken to a high-security prison in the capital.

Mr Coluccio has been on the run since 2005, when he left the country to avoid arrest. He is alleged to have played a key role in the international trafficking of cocaine and heroin between the US and Europe. 'NDRANGHETA "Honoured Society", based in Calabria region of south ItalyOrigins thought to date back to shortly after Italian unification in 1861Group grew as reaction to richer class from northOperates clan-based power structure based on blood familiesAccused of cocaine and weapons smugglingEstimated to have made 16m euros (£10.8m) profits in 2002 <a class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/6949274.stm">Blood feud spills over</a>

When he was tracked down in Toronto, living in a skyscraper overlooking Lake Ontario, he was reported to have Can$1.5m ($1.4m; £750,000) in cash, travellers cheques and jewels in his possession.

Italian officials have warned that the Calabrian-based 'Ndrangheta mafia - based on blood ties between interlinked families - poses a greater threat than both the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the Camorra, centred around the city of Naples.

The clan's violent activities spilled beyond Italy's borders last year, when six Italians were shot dead in the German city of Duisburg.

The bulk of Europe's cocaine is reported to pass through channels controlled by the 'Ndrangheta, which has offshoots and links with crime groups in South America, Canada, Australia and eastern Europe.