Sicilian leader of drug trafficking ring arrested in St Paul’s Bay

The Maltese police have arrested 39-year-old Maximiliano Genova over his connections with a drug trafficking organisation in Sicily.

Police said the arrest was carried out after a European Arrest Warrant was issued for the Sicilian, who Italian media identified as the head of a criminal organisation based in Syracuse. He had been on the run from Italian authorities for months. 

Investigations by the police’s Central Intelligence and Analysis Unit identified the man who was found hiding in Malta.

Italian carabinieri carried out a massive operation to dismantle a drug ring in Syracuse

At around 2:00 am on Tuesday, police surrounded a St Paul’s Bay apartment where Genova was residing in, before carrying out the arrest.  

The operation was carried out in collaboration with Italian police, who also arrested 31 people in Syracuse, Sicily. The drug trafficking ring was making profits of €25,000 daily, according to Italian carabinieri.  

The man is being held at the police headquarters in Floriana, and will be charged in court on Wednesday.