"Socalj" for Borderland Beat
From a Sunday World Article by Niall Donald
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A narco-trafficker and a key figure in Europe’s Super Cartel has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison by an Italian court.
Dubbed the ‘King of Narcos’, Raffaele Imperiale had been extradited to Italy last year from Dubai where he had been overseeing an international cocaine trafficking ring while living in luxury in the Gulf State. After he was returned to Italian custody, Imperiale agreed to be a State witness and gave extensive details of his drug dealing business and criminal associates to police.
Gardai believe Imperiale was a close ally of Daniel Kinahan and they, along with other trafficking gangs, controlled a large portion of Europe’s drugs trade.
The Camorra gang boss was a guest at Kinahan’s wedding in Dubai in 2017 where he was monitored by the US’s Drug Enforcement Agency mixing with major criminal figures from across the globe.
At the time, Imperiale, who became infamous after two paintings, including a Van Gogh stolen in 2002 in Amsterdam were found hidden in a wall in one of his villas in Naples, was one of Italy’s most wanted men.
However, Imperiale’s days of living like a king are now at an end after he was given a 15 year and 8 month sentence in a court in Naples on Wednesday. His right-hand man, Bruno Carbone, was also jailed for 14 years, along with around 20 others also linked to his mob.
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| Rendering of the never developed Taiwan island. |
Imperiale's World Island Seized
Naples court judge Maria Luisa Miranda has also finalized the seizure of Imperiale’s private island in Dubai.The island is part of a man-made archipelago called ‘The World’, built just off Dubai’s coast and constructed in the shape of a global map. The Taiwan island was purchased by Imperiale. He previously told a court in Naples that he paid €12 million for the island but has valued it at up to €60 million.
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| Daniel Kinahan and Edin Gacanin remain fugitives. |
Euro Super Cartel
Imperiale is also believed to have been at the top of the Super Cartel that included Daniel Kinahan, the Dutch criminal Ridouan Taghi and Bosnian drug trafficker Edin Gacanin among its leaders.Along with Taghi and Edin Gačanin, Imperiale was one of the guests who attended Kinahan’s wedding at the plush Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai in 2017.
However, in 2022, he was arrested by Dubai cops and ultimately extradited from Dubai after a legal battle.
Following his extradition, Imperiale dumped his code of Omerta and become State witness against the Camorra, the drug mafia he was a high-ranking member of for over two decades.
However, the Italian police forces have now also reportedly made Imperiale available to European police forces for interview, a face which has sent a ripple of fear across is former allies in Dubai.
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Imperiale Downplays Involvement with El Rico
Leaked documents in the Dutch media show how the Italian gangster gave a detailed statement about his involvement with Dutch-Chilean criminal, Richard ‘El Rico’ Riquelme Vega.‘El Rico’ was also one of Daniel Kinahan’s closet criminal contacts.
The Dutch new site Het Parool revealed two months ago that Imperiale was interrogated in September 2023 in the Orinus investigation into El Rico’s criminal organisation.
“I met Rico in 2008,” Imperiale told investigators, according to Het Parool. “When he came out of prison he was well known in the criminal world because he had served his time in Germany without mentioning the names of others. When he came out of prison he was abandoned by his own people, with whom he worked. He had no money then, he was completely broke, as we say in Italy.”
However, Imperiale claims that by the time "El Rico" moved to Dubai, he was a wealthy man from the drugs trade.
“When Rico moved to Dubai, he had a large, significant capital, €80 or €100 million which he had amassed from entering “into joint ventures with the Colombian cartels”.
Asked by investigating officers if Rico and Imperiale had acted together in the cocaine trade, he replied:
“No, not directly, but in 2016 he facilitated me, he gave me 300 kilos of cocaine to help me.
“I didn't work with him, he is South American, they need entrances in the Dutch ports, and they have their own channels. I used my own contacts," Imperiale stated.
"I mean, there was no connection in the true sense of the word, but there was mutual respect between the two of us, also a friendly contact, not just work related. Well, it was more friendly.”
“I didn't work with him, he is South American, they need entrances in the Dutch ports, and they have their own channels. I used my own contacts," Imperiale stated.
"I mean, there was no connection in the true sense of the word, but there was mutual respect between the two of us, also a friendly contact, not just work related. Well, it was more friendly.”
Ricardo Riquelme Vega, whose nickname 'El Rico' means ‘The Rich One’ was sentenced to 11 years in jail.
Sources Sunday World
He will live out his life in anonymity or someone will pay to have his ended prematurely. Probably the latter
ReplyDeletenobody will touch him if he is black nobility,IF he goes to jail,it most likely will be his " stand in".
Delete“However, Imperiale’s days of living like a king are now at an end”
ReplyDeleteNot really.. he already came from a very wealthy family, I know because my family are from the same hometown. They literally have an entire neighborhood named after themselves and owned the local soccer team for decades… not to mention the 10s of millions he has stashed away and all the properties they own all over the world.
There’s a reason why so many high level Camorristi become “Pentiti”; they only give up what’s needed and not necessarily beneficial to the authorities in the grand scheme of things.
Just look at what exactly he “gave up” and the recent shenanigans with the biggest Camorra boss to go pentito in 30+ years (Francesco Schiavone).
Also, because of the Van Gogh forfeitures and agreeing to a speedy prosecution (by Italian standards), he automatically gets a 1/3rd reduction in his sentence… so he will be out in about ~8 years maybe less.
Not trying to kiss his ass either, just always been a Juve Stabia fan. 🐝
Honestly from the outside looking in I believe it just look what he was doing and that’s probably the tip of the iceberg
Delete@328 — Yep nobody even talking about how he’s a high level Amato clan member and didn’t drop a cent on them…
DeleteEdin Gacanin, called Dino was arrested at the same time as the Italian was.
ReplyDeleteHe was let go in less then a month.
It's a fact.
Just as a person from Serbia, wanted for multiple murders and cocaine smuggling was detained, and then taken by DEA from Dominican republic, never to be mentioned again.
He has always been a DEA asset, he came out of nowhere, being a big boss at younger than 40, without family in the business, unlike every young guy high up in it.
Greed makes people blind.
There's no big business without State, secret services being involved, and all the puppet masters are in Washington DC.
Kinahan, Imperiale, Dino, Rico, they’re all assets…. Taghi may have been one, possibly limited or not at all, but fucked up all his chances with all the hits he made… you don’t go after prosecutors and journalists in the Netherlands and get away with it… He is facing LIFE which is extremely rare in the NL.
DeleteCan You f imagine the money el mayo has 🫰🤑 that old man probably the richest man of all times 😱
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine the guys you don’t know about, or hell… RCQ? 😱😱🤯🤯
DeleteThe Rothschild family are richest of all time.
DeleteOfcourse not what kind of logic is this. You lot get paid in pesos close from the source so they buy and sell cheap while Europeans get paid in Euros and get it straight from the source (Columbia/Bolivia) as well. Cartels are killing each other as savages for literally pennies. Still a notch better than Americans who commit mass shootings when it doesn't go their way or get bullied on the internet.
Delete@11:02...looks like th guy with twisted logic is you.Yeah,Mayo might get sell some parts in Mexico,but I bet thw majority goes to the USA,and what do you think they pay with...buy direct from. Source(south america) and sell direct to US..
DeleteNo way a Narco is the riches not even close.
Delete@1102 — OP is illogical but so are you. You honestly think their money is kept in pesos? Lmao 🤣
Delete@1107 you are missing the point. Why do you think Americans go retire in Mexico and Mexicans not in America? The currency Hermano. You think cartel affiliates in Mexico where they sell it to their splinter groups who in turn smuggle it across the border pay by USD? What makes a cartel the strongest in Mexico? When they own the domestic trade or territory.
Delete@4:08 Cartels have money in all currencies, and real state properties all over the world. Your logic is extremely basic.
Delete@1132 — well said..
DeleteHe's a star snitch in Italy, he can do the crime but apparently not the time
ReplyDeleteWhat or who did he exactly snitch on?
DeleteThey make a couple billion dollars, but they can't stop. They get out of prison with a billion in hidden cash waiting for them, but they jump right back into the game.
ReplyDeleteGreed always gets them
Pushing is more addicting than using
DeleteIt’s the power, dumbasses.
DeleteIs there no news regarding the US/MX border? Not too interested what goes on in spaghetti land.
ReplyDeleteCDs can only dream of having a op like this. They will never be big players in Europe
ReplyDeleteEurope is civilized, unbelievable how low their murder rate is for a continent that size and the fact that they have the biggest drug market in the world.
DeleteGoood for him he played it pretty smart unlike taghi
ReplyDeleteAgreed
DeleteCamorra is not a super cartel, you're wrong. The only one cartel in Italy traficking cocaine is nDrangheta.
ReplyDeleteKeep on believing!
DeleteThis has nothing to do with Camorra only. This super cartel is composed and uses Camorra for somethings
DeleteSuper Cartel is actually a Balcan Mafia with heads in Serbia and Croatia, and Bosnia. Its like a consortium of traffickers from those countries. THAT IS SUPER CARTEL IN EUROPE
And if you want to know one of the biggest bosses of that super cartel is a man named Radoje Zvicer.
DeleteLa Camorra tri toda su hente Italiana como los Mossilemos muerriendose de hambre. El Catolico no puede ayarse sobre la tierra y el Mossilemo esta harto de su hente! Se ayan aki en America pasando facil por Mexico. Con chingo de viete que pasaron patras ha sus paises que ni se han echo algo pa lograr. Andan sin futuro. Ha con su piel se hacen conbertir ha sangre Azteca pero aqui les paro su pedo. No se duerman plebes porque les voy ha poner mis pobres que trigo aca abajo. Y para summirselas bien del Cielo se las voy a meter.
ReplyDeleteDo you want the English translation so you can understand?
Dude, translations always welcomed, no?
DeleteYour Spanish is already fucked up as well...
Delete11:30
DeleteLol 😂 bomg !!!
Vafanculo
DeleteSo the translation zis's, is that I got the jump on you. You ain't going to milk the clock on American people and have nothing to show for it. Yeah you in Italy and the middle east have a couple of thousand yrs moving heroin and are long in experience to the game of dope. You find yourself in old architecture that means nothing. It's beautiful and breathtaking and I wonder wow so much history in art and war and yet at the feet of America you find yourself. What is it with your people that you think you can have a delusion that you can just devour my people?! In the yrs I've been alive I've knocked off your system and didn't have to try. You're in a bind now! Super cartel!!!! My people stomped those leafs they planted and picked by hand. And my people refined the gas used an ingredient to make it. So you see how far back you've been left? My people made it so that you will never have a chance to catch up. This dope game is just a hobby to us. It's not considered in the mind for thought in planning the future! Pendejo. Go make mudd pie and shut the fuck up. Where the fuck sid you think you were? This is my world. I inherited for my people. I took all this little space away from you. I gotta an eye that's everywhere at all time. Stupid ass ojete. Shut up.
Delete