Ndrangheta mafia boss arrested in Colombian shopping centre Roberto Pannunzi, either 65 or 67, is known as the "Pablo Escobar of Italy" - a reference to the Colombian drug lord - and is said to be the linchpin of the mafia's transatlantic cocaine trade, shipping up to two tons of the drug per month from Colombia to Italy. The Italian drug lord has been on the run since he walked through the main entrance of a Rome hospital where he was being treated for a heart condition while in police detention in 2010. "If I have to die, I want to do it as a free man," he reportedly said days before he fled. Pannunzi allegedly has a long history with both the Colombian and Mexican drug cartels. He has also built strong relations with the Sicilian Cosa Nostra. Nicolo Gratteri, Italy's chief anti-mafia prosecutor in Reggio Calabria, said: "He is the biggest cocaine importer in the world. We know that he organises purchases of 300,000 kilograms at a time. The Calabrian "Ndrangheta is one of four mafia groups that operate in Italy and is considered one of the most powerful and dangerous criminal organisations in the world.