On 12 May, following a joint investigation under the umbrella of Europol, and coordinated by the Italian State Police and German law enforcement authorities resulted in the arrest in Cologne (Germany), of one of the most important Italian fugitives and member of the Italian Crime Syndicate COSA NOSTRA.

The dangerous fugitive was wanted by the Italian authorities because of his involvement in several crimes and because of his mafia affiliation, since he belongs to the Santangelo clan also known as “Taccuni” of Adrano (Catania), a criminal organisation linked to the powerful mafia family Santapaola of Catania.

An European Arrest Warrant (EAW) was issued against him for mafia association with the aggravating circumstance of being armed association, drugs trafficking, extortion, robbery, receiving stolen goods, crimes relating to weapons, damage caused by fire, with the aggravating circumstance of having committed the offense in the name and on behalf of the mafia-type association and in order to facilitate illicit activities.

The arrest is the second result within a few days of a fruitful exchange of information between Europol, and the Italian and German law enforcement authorities and it represents the second result of the "Eurosearch" project, initiated by the Italian Central Operations Service of Polizia di Stato, which aims to locate and capture dangerous mafia fugitives in Europe.

Europol was supporting the investigation by providing analytical and operational support and by organising a dedicated operational meeting at its headquarters in The Hague.