NIGERIAN MAFIA: A FUGITIVE CONVICTED BY FINAL JUDGEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 416 BIS BY THE COURT IN TURIN WAS ARRESTED IN FRANCE

The monitoring activity aimed at detecting the criminal targets active in the area falling under the jurisdiction of the DIA Field Office in Brescia and the processing of commercial and financial data (in particular the analysis of the money transfers abroad,  partly resulting in  suspicious money laundering activity reports, which,  institutionally fall under the jurisdiction of the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate) led to the identification of a 30-year old Nigerian citizen, who had been investigated in 2019 by the DDA in Turin for mafia-type association  (art. 416bis C.P.) as a  member of the crime group named  “MAPHITE” (a cult group of the Nigerian mafia-type syndicate). The crime group was responsible for having committed a series of crimes: drug offences, extortion, crimes against persons (including human smuggling and illegal migration) aiding and abetting prostitution, in Turin, in its province and in some European countries as well as a series of crimes in Nigeria, including aggressions and murders.

In November 2023 the 30-year-old Nigerian national, who had been untraceable in Italy since 2021, was convicted by final judgement to 4 years and 8 months of imprisonment, being responsible for the crime under article 416bis C.P.

The checks carried out in January 2024 highlighted the last contact details of the Nigerian national in Italy in the province of Bergamo and his movements after 2021, when he became untraceable in Italy, and detected a commercial activity registered in his name in France. An information exchange was set up with the French competent authorities, which made it possible to identify the 30-year-old Nigerian citizen in France. The Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Appeal in Turin made a request for a European Arrest warrant, an essential tool, which led the French competent authorities, in close cooperation with the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate, to apprehend the Nigerian citizen in Bordeaux in early April.

The prescribed evaluation process of the extradition request to Italy is underway.

Brescia, 2 May 2024