(CNN) An Italian mafia boss has escaped from a detention center in Uruguay, where he was awaiting extradition to Italy, the Uruguayan Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

Mugshot of Rocco Morabito

Rocco Morabito, a notorious member of the Ndrangheta, or Calabrian Mafia, has been one of Italy's most-wanted fugitives since 1994

Morabito was arrested in 2017 in Uruguay after more than 20 years on the run. Convicted in absentia for drug trafficking and organized-crime activities in Italy, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The drug kingpin and three other inmates managed to break out of the National Institute of Rehabilitation (INR) in Montevideo through a hole and out onto the rooftop of the building late on Sunday night. The group robbed a nearby farmhouse before fleeing, according to the ministry.

"Among the fugitives is the Italian Rocco Morabito, who was waiting for his extradition by the Italian justice being investigated for international drug trafficking," the statement said.

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