Offbeat | Italy police under fire for letting mob boss greet fans

Police in southern Italy are under fire for allowing one of Italy’s most-wanted mob bosses to greet his fans after his arrest and let them kiss his hand.

Police arrested Giuseppe Giorgi last Friday in a bunker inside his home in San Luca, the base of some of the most notorious clans of the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta mob.

A video shown on Sky TG24 showed police jumping for joy after the arrest. But another showed them letting an un-cuffed Giorgi greet well-wishers outside his home as they escorted him out. One reached out for Giorgi’s hand and kissed it to show respect.

Italian magistrate Federico Cafiero de Raho says police couldn’t have foreseen the gesture and insisted the arrest was a sign of police strength even amid such “tribal rites.”

Categories World