Camorra informer turned fugitive arrested in Malta

Lawyers for an Italian fugitive suspected of belonging to a Camorra clan who was arrested in Malta on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant are expected to appeal an order for her extradition.

Donatella Concas, 40, living in Mosta, was arrested after her name appeared on a Schengen Information System alert.

She had been sentenced to three years, 8 months imprisonment in 2015 by a Venetian court for participating in organised crime, usury, extortion and illegal possession of weapons.

Concas' lawyer, Malcolm Mifsud, told magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona that the woman had fled Italy in fear of her life after testifying against members of the mafia who now wanted to kill her. Inspector Herman Mula, prosecuting, argued that she didn't want to return to Italy simply to avoid prison.

Italian news reports say Concas was convicted of involvement in mafia-type crimes, forming part of the main gang in the Veneto region, between 2009 and 2011.

The reports say she is part of a "clan of the Camorra", who took advantage of several entrepreneurs' needs, providing ready cash against usurious interest rates.

But after her conviction, Concas had disappeared without a trace for more than a year and it was only after what it termed as “extensive technical investigations,” was Concas traced to Malta territory.

After the court upheld the extradition order, Mifsud informed the court that he would be contesting it.