(Carabinieri via AP)

ROME (AP) — A top crime syndicate boss convicted of drug trafficking and on the run from Italy since 1994 has been arrested in Uruguay, where he was living in a luxury villa in a seaside resort town under an alias and using a false Brazilian passport, authorities said Monday. Reggio Calabria Chief Prosecutor Federico Cafiero de Raho said Rocco Morabito played a big role in cocaine trafficking between South America and Milan, a distribution point for the drug to be sold elsewhere. Rocco Morabito: Fugitive Italian 'cocaine king' arrested in Uruguay after 23 years on the run

One of Italy's most wanted mob bosses has been arrested in Uruguay after 23 years on the run from convictions for mafia association, drug trafficking, and other serious crimes, the interior ministries of both countries said. An international arrest warrant was issued in 1995 with the aim of tracking down Morabito and extraditing him to Italy, where he has been sentenced to 30 years in jail. (AP Photo/Marcelo Umpierrez)

This photo released by Uruguay's Interior Ministry on Monday, Sept. 4, 2017 shows a swimming pool in the backyard of the villa where Italian mafia fugitive Rocco Morabito lived in the luxury resort town of Punta del Este, Uruguay. Rocco Morabito was considered the most wanted fugitive member of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, Italy's most powerful organised crime group and one of Europe's biggest importers of South American cocaine.
Italian fugitive and 'Ndrangheta member Rocco Morabito is arrested in Montevideo, Uruguay, after 23 years on the run. He is now expected to be extradited to Italy in the coming months.