Antonio Strangio (centre in orange) arrives for a press conference at the Immigration Office in Jimbaran on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on February 19, 2023. Strangio, who holds dual Italian and Australian citizenship, was wanted for the production and trafficking of drugs, and was arrested at Bali airport on Feb 2 after being on the run since 2016. - AFP
DENPASAR, Feb 19 (AP): Indonesian police said Sunday they will escort back to Italy an Italian-Australian fugitive who was arrested on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali after seven years on the run in connection with drug trafficking and organised crime.
Antonio Strangio, 32, appeared on Interpol's "red notice” list when he was stopped and detained in Bali on Feb 3 after arriving from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Bali police spokesperson Satake Bayu Setianto cited safety reasons in refusing to say when Strangio will be deported to Italy, where he's wanted on charges of trafficking 160 kilograms (352 pounds) of marijuana.
The suspect was shown to reporters at an airport news conference given by the police and was escorted to the departure hall on Sunday afternoon.
Strangio is allegedly connected to the ’ndrangheta mafia, considered by Italian prosecutors to be the most important criminal organization in the Western world.
"For the ’ndrangheta itself, there are special operations between European countries, and all of its members are red notice subjects who must be held accountable for trials in their respective countries,” Anggaito Hadi Prabowo, an official from the Indonesian national police international relations division, told reporters. - AP
