Michele Antonio Varano (; born 13 July 1951) is an Italian criminal accused of being a member of the

'Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and secret society, criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of ...

, a Mafia-type organisation in

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. From 2000, he was on the Italian " most wanted list" for membership of a criminal organization. Varano has been accused (but not convicted) of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

smuggling and other crimes. The Italian authorities tried unsuccessfully over many years to have him extradited from other countries, but he eventually gave himself up to the authorities at

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

in 2014. He is currently serving a prison sentence for identity card offences, while investigators consider bringing other charges.

Cigarette smuggling allegations

Varano was arrested on 12 May 2009, in

Gandria Gandria is both a quarter of the city of Lugano in the Swiss canton of Ticino, and a village on the northern shore of Lake Lugano, which forms the core of that quarter. Until 2004, the quarter of Gandria was an independent municipality, joining wi ...

, Switzerland.Arrestato Michele Varano
,

Corriere del Ticino ''Corriere del Ticino'' is a regional daily newspaper in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. History and profile ''Corriere del Ticino'' was established in 1891. The paper is published in the Italian language in Muzzano, Ticino. In the early ...

, 13 May 2009 According to a statement by the Swiss office of the Federal Prosecutor in 2008, he was among ten people accused of laundering more than US$1 billion made by cigarette-smuggling operations between the early 1990s and 2001.Swiss charge 10 in mafia cigarette smuggling case
Associated Press, 6 October 2008 As reported by Italian judicial investigators, Varano's organisation had illegally transported cigarettes between Italy and

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using speedboats, with the Montenegrin authorities collecting money on special licences and transit fees. According to the Italian prosecutors, this organisation had enjoyed the protection of the Montenegrin prime minister Milo Đukanović.Così il contrabbando finanziava il Montenegro
La Repubblica, 21 February 2001 Officials in Montenegro denied any wrongdoing.Montenegrin PM accused of link with tobacco racket
''The Guardian'', 11 July 2003 The contraband cigarettes were stored in Montenegro before being smuggled into Italy to be sold on the

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

and

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.Prosecutors smoke out money launderers
SwissInfo, 6 October 2008 Italians bought more than two billion packets of such cigarettes over more than ten years, and much of the proceeds was channelled into Swiss bank accounts by financial couriers.

Convicted of carrying a false identity card

Varano was tried before the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in

Bellinzona Bellinzona ( , , Ticinese ; french: Bellinzone ; german: Bellenz ; rm, Blizuna )is a municipality, a historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebell ...

, and in July 2009 he was acquitted on the charges of money laundering and cigarette smuggling through the so-called "Montenegro connection". However, in May 2010 he was sentenced in absentia to a year in prison for carrying a false identity card.Michele Varano condannato a un anno di prigione
Radiotelevisione Svizzera (RSI), 21 May 2010 He surrendered to the police on 2 December 2014 in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varano, Michele Antonio 1951 births Fugitives wanted by Italy Fugitives wanted on organised crime charges Living people 'Ndranghetisti