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8 February 2005
BRUSSELS – Two Italians wanted for mafia activities have been arrested in Brussels, it was reported on Tuesday.
Charleroi’s police and judiciary had been working with their Italian counterparts for months to track down the men.
The first, Bruno Giorgi, had been hiding in Belgium because he was wanted for being part of the Calabrian mafia.
In the past, he has been sentenced to 16 years’ in prison and he is now suspected of involvement in trafficking large amounts of cocaine from Colombia to Italy, with much of it passing through Belgium.
In recent months, the Italian authorities have seized 300 kilos of cocaine, believed to have been smuggled by Giorgi’s ring.
Charleroi police tracked Giorgi down first to Fayt-lez-Manage, in the centre of Belgium, but they waited until he met up at the end of last week with his mafia conspirator before arresting them both in Brussels.
The second man, who is not being named by police, has a criminal record and has been condemned to a total of 30 years in prison.
[Copyright Expatica 2005]
Subject: Belgian news