The Godfather of a branch of the Sacra Corona Unita mafia organisation, called “Pellegrino”, from the Italian region of Apulia has been arrested in Munich near the Hauptbahnhof (Central Train Station) on Friday, November 13 at 1pm, Bavarian State Criminal Police reports today. The 44-year-old Italian has been under surveillance for a period of time before the arrest. At the time he was caught, he was carrying a Romanian passport.

Italian police had issued an arrest warrant, and the man is currently awaiting extradition to Italy, where, if found guilty, he will face at least ten years in prison if he gets convicted under the "Mafia paragraphs" of Italian Penal law (art. 416 Criminal Code). According to the accusations, the man’s field of expertise were illegal gambling, international drug trafficking, usury and extortion. In 2014, the operations of the Pellegrino branch, operating in and around the town Squinzano, were busted and 30 clan members were arrested, amongst them an ex-mayor and other public officials. Over 100 kilograms of cocaine were also found.

Sacra Corona Unita operates throughout Europe.