The World's Most Powerful Cocaine Broker: Inside the 'Ndrangheta with Antonio Talia

The Underworld Podcast

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture, History

4.6 • 871 Ratings

🗓️ 18 April 2023

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In recent years, another one of Italy's feared criminal groups has risen above the Sicilian Mafia to become among the most powerful organized crime groups in the world: The Calabrian 'Ndrangheta. Started as a self-defense militia centuries ago to protect against pirates and raiders, the secretive society later morphed into a powerful group of bandits who made their bones through high profile, high profit kidnappings - like snatching the grandson of one of the richest men in the world. Soon enough, though, they wanted in on the real money, which means cocaine trafficking...and that's where Rocco Morabito excelled. Dubbed the cocaine king of Milan, he eventually became one of Italy's most wanted men and went on the run in South America for decades after brokering massive cocaine deals between the cartels and Italian organized crime groups, helping the Ndrangheta control the majority of Europe's cocaine trade. Calabrian crime reporter and journalist Antonio Talia, who grew up in the same area that Morabito hails from, takes us inside the Ndrangheta and the rise and fall of one of the world's biggest cocaine brokers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Punta del Este yerigway in the summer of 2017. If you've never heard of it, it's a beautiful
0:05.9	seaside city where South America's rich and elite go on vacation or key villains.
0:10.9	One of these rich and elite gentlemen, a model citizen who seems to have a soybean business and
0:15.1	deal real estate, has popped up on the radar of the Italian police.
0:19.6	He generally keeps a pretty low profile, except for the occasional birthday blowout for his daughter.
0:24.4	But he's made the mistake of registering that daughter at a school under her own name,
0:28.8	and this has sent alarm bells ringing all over the world.
0:33.0	See, that man's been wanted in Italy for nearly 25 years.
0:37.0	And not only just wanted, but like top three or four for fugitives for a country
0:42.0	with no shortage of global criminal power players.
0:45.5	And he happens to be a major player.
0:48.3	Near the top of the food chain and the Feared and Drangeta criminal organization based in Calabria, but operating on damn near every continent all over the world.
0:57.0	The Androngeda started as a secretive defense militia in the mountains of Calabria, Italy centuries ago.
1:03.0	That's the region in Italy right above Sicily, where the mafia originated.
1:07.0	They fought off pirates and raiders, but in the 20th century morphed into a criminal organization that made it big on
1:13.8	kidnapping and ransom before in later years turning to what else cocaine.
1:18.2	And this guy the police are hunting named Arako Mordebitu once dubbed the cocaine king of
1:24.4	Milan is one of the guys who helped get them big into the game. A criminal
1:29.1	prodigy he was organizing massive cocaine deals between the world's most powerful organized crime groups before he was 30,
1:35.3	sitting down with the Cali cartel, the Sicilian mafia, and representing the Andrangetta.
1:40.6	He was international, and he helped turn the Andron Geta into Europe's biggest
1:44.8	cocaine importer controlling 80% of the market at times. He's been on the run
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Underworld Podcast, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Underworld Podcast and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.