How A Cooking Show and Covid-19 Has Helped Police Stop The Mafia

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Vlogging (video blogging) and content creation have been gaining popularity these days. People do it either as a source of income or simply as a hobby. Who would have thought that this kind of activity would be what Interpol would need to progress in a case?

Mafia 

Before we take a deep dive into the Ndrangheta case, it is essential to learn what a mafia is.

 The term Mafia came from the Sicilian adjective “mafiusu” which can be translated into bravado. It originally referred to the Sicilian Mafia, an organized terrorist-type criminal society in Italy. It is a group that involves all sorts of underground activities like gambling, prostitution, and assassination. They are divided into smaller subgroups called a family or a clan. Each of these families claims sovereignty over a territory. Shockingly, the mafia does not control the top 10 best sites to buy YouTube views from, which is lucky for every aspiring new YouTuber!  

How A Cooking Show and Covid-19 Has Helped Police in the Ndrangheta Mafia Case

 Nowadays, the term “mafia” also refers to groups with a similar nature. Japanese Mafia, Camorra Mafia Group, and Ndrangheta Mafia Group are just some notable examples.

The Ndrangheta Mafia Group

The Ndrangheta Mafia group is currently the subject of one of Italy’s most prominent cases in three decades. Accused of kidnappings, murders, and international drug trafficking, their members are among the country’s most wanted individuals.

 One of the most notorious and fearsome crime syndicates in Italy, Ndrangheta is also one of the biggest. It consists of thousands of members with 350 named fugitives, costing the pre-trials more than three hours to read their names alone. Admittedly, the authority will have trouble finding all of these people, so the case is expected to last for one or more years.

Consequently, an international effort was launched to stop them on their tracks. The “Interpol Cooperation Against Ndrangheta” led by Interpol and consisted of various European police forces was formulated. Its mission is to hunt the members of the said mafia group. This is available on YouTube. 

Marc Feren Claude Biart 

A member of the Ndrangheta Mafia group, Biart was wanted by the authority. He had allegedly been trafficking cocaine from the Netherlands since 2014. 

 Marc Biart (53) has been a sneaky one. He lived in the Dominican Republic for five years before his arrest. During his stay in the country, he laid low. He avoided interaction with other Italians, especially in popular tourist spots. His carefulness about his movements has allowed him to go incognito. He was able to move almost freely without being detected by the authority.

That was until he made a slip-up. 

The YouTube Views That Caught The Mafia

 He was found and arrested after he started a Youtube channel with his wife. Biart has a love for culinary arts and Italian cuisine. In fact, he has once worked in a restaurant in his home country. Perhaps missing his job and his hobby, he posted a cooking video online. 

 The fact that he is sought out by the authority has not escaped his mind, however. So, he hid his face in the footage – in which he did a great job. Luckily, other than his face, some things can give out his identity. Even someone as slippery as Marc Biart is capable of committing small mistakes. In this case, it was not covering his body tattoos. Those tattoos have become the instruments that helped the police to track down the fugitive. 

How A Cooking Show and Covid-19 Has Helped Police in the Ndrangheta Mafia Case

 Once the police were notified of this activity, they acted quickly. With it, the seven-year-long game of hide-and-seek has ended. Marc Feren Claude Biart was captured. He was then deported to Italy and brought to Milan on March 29, 2021.

Francesco Pelle

Francesco Pelle (44) is another member of the Ndrangheta Mafia Group. He was regarded as one of the most dangerous criminals in Italy. 

 While Biart was wanted by the authority for drug trafficking, Pelle faces a much heavier case. He is accused of being the brain behind an assassination attempt. 

 For organizations as big as the Ndrangheta, conflicts among its members are inevitable. And of course, considering the morals of those who are in the group, they are to be expected. 

 The Vendetta of San Luca is a prime example of these conflicts. It is a battle against the members of the Strangio-Nirta and Pelle-Vottari-Romeo clans of the mafia group. It started back in 1991 when they had some misunderstandings that caused the life of two young boys from the Strangio-Nirta clan. The feuds lasted for years, and several dead members later, Francesco got very involved. While on the balcony with his child, he was shot in the back. The blow paralyzed him and forced him to use a wheelchair. 

Murder Was The Case Tuber’s Gave Them

 He reacted by seeking revenge. He organized an attack on the rival clan’s leader Giovanni Luca Nirta. The assassination attempt was executed on December 25 – Christmas day of the year 2006. Giovanni survived the attack, but his wife Maria Strangio was murdered. 

 Francesco Pelle has been in and out of prison since then. He was captured in a hospital in the year 2008. Then in 2017, the terms of his trial expired, so he was let out of prison. He was put on house arrest in Milan, however, and was ordered to wait for his sentence there. But upon learning that he was sentenced to life in prison without parole, Francesco fled.

 It was until March 29, 2021, that Francesco was caught and found. He was recaptured by the police while receiving treatment for Covid -19 at a hospital in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Battle Continues

Biart and Pelle’s recent arrests were huge milestones for the task force. With them found away from their country, they have proved that the mafia is not a threat only to Italy but also to the rest of the world. They serve as proof that the mafia has a global network- worldwide connections that let them in every continent of the planet. They should concern every one of us.

How A Cooking Show and Covid-19 Has Helped Police in the Ndrangheta Mafia Case

 Furthermore, these were just two of the three hundred and fifty named fugitives. For the police, their imprisonment meant progress, not victory. That would still require a lot of work. But rest assured that the authority is working non-stop to find these people and put them in jail where they belong.

Date: September 28, 2021 / Categories: YouTube, / Author: Joy P

September
28
2021

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