Alleged mafia drug trafficker hid out in Perth before arrest in Rome
A suspected key figure in a major Italian mafia crime gang is behind bars after hiding out in Perth.
Officers arrested Bruno Crisafi when he landed in Rome, where he was wanted over cocaine charges.
It was the end of a two-year-long international hunt for the fugitive, who surrendered himself to police in Rome.
Crisafi is suspected of being a leading figure of Calabria's N'Drangheta mafia group.
Officers watched him closely as he was marched from the plane, not allowing him out of their sight.
The 42-year-old had allegedly been on the run since 2015.
In May last year he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for mafia-related drug trafficking.
He fled Italy and it is believed he's been hiding out with relatives in Perth ever since.
Italian media say officials worked with their Australian counterparts to have his visa application refused.
On Wednesday he boarded a flight from Perth to Doha.
He then got on a plane bound for Rome, where police were waiting.
It's understood he knew the net was closing in on him, and he chose to give himself up.
He is now behind bars in Italy.
