Venezuela Captures Top International Drug Trafficker

Mérida, June 22nd 2009 (Venezuelanalysis.com) - On Saturday night in Caracas, Venezuela's national crime investigation agency, CICPC, arrested Italian citizen Miceli Salvatore, considered to be one of the five most wanted drug traffickers.

Minister for Justice and Internal Affairs Tarek El Aissami announced the capture on Sunday and said that Salvatore has been wanted by the Italian authorities since 2001 and also by the international police Interpol with an international arrest order.

"[Salvatore] is one of the five most wanted men in Europe for heroine, cocaine and morphine trafficking," he said.

According to El Aissami, Salvatore had obtained a range of facial operations to obscure his identity, but the CICPC managed to identify him. He will be immediately deported to the Italian authorities.

Italian police said Salvatore was listed as one of the county's 30 most dangerous men. According to the BBC, he is suspected of being a link between two well known Italian mafia organizations, Sicily's Cosa Nostra network and the Ndrangheta network, and Colombian drug cartels.

El Aissami said the capture demonstrates, "one more time the on-target polices of the [Venezuelan] government...in the constant battle against drug trafficking and organized crime."

Two years ago the mafia leader Francesco Termine was also arrested in Venezuela.

Published on Jun 22nd 2009 at 6.53pm