Overview
- Massimiliano del Vecchio, 42, was arrested on August 6 in Barcelona as he left a dental clinic while still under local anesthesia.
- Agents seized roughly €100,000 in cash along with false identity documents, mobile phones, SIM cards and notes now under review.
- The Guardia Civil and Italy’s Carabinieri coordinated the operation after investigators used facial recognition and social-media monitoring to track him to Spain.
- Authorities describe him as leader of an emerging trafficking network tied to violence north of Naples with links to Colombian suppliers and Brazilian operators.
- Investigators place him in Spain since 2023 living under a false identity in Alicante, and he is now before the Audiencia Nacional awaiting extradition as inquiries expand into his European facilitators.