Kenya deports 3 Italian drug barons

Kenyan authorities on Tuesday deported three Italian fugitives wanted by Interpol over drug and criminal related offenses in their home country.

The three, Mario Mele, Alberto Fulvio and Stefano Poli who were on Interpol's Red Notice, were handed over to Italian authorities in Malindi and deported.

They were among twelve suspects arrested in Mombasa during a joint security operation last week.

Head of Anti-Narcotics Police Unit, Hamis Massa, confirmed the suspects were handed over to Italian authorities for deportation.

"We have handed the three for deportation to their home country where they are wanted for various crime they committed before escaping in to the country," Massa said.

In his home country, Mele is facing charges of tax evasion and fraudulent bankruptcy, involving an amount of 17 million euros.

The suspect is believed to have fled from Italy in 2013. The 56-year-old was arrested at his PataPata Beach Club in Malindi.

Fulvio is an Italian fugitive who has been on Interpol's most wanted list since 1997. He fled to Kenya in 1993 to escape an eight-year conviction in Torini, Italy and acquired citizenship in 2009.

Poli, a 70-year-old from Gomo in Italy, arrived in Kenya last year after escaping a 10-year and nine-month sentence imposed by a court in Milan over fiscal fraud and fraudulent bankruptcy.

Coast regional police commander Philip Tuimur said last Friday that the Italians' deportation would send the strong message that Kenya is not a safe haven for criminals.

The war on drugs at the Coast has seen the arrest and deportation of suspects including the Akasha brothers and their accomplices to New York.

Baktash (40) and Ibrahim (28) Akasha, and foreigners Vijay Goswami (Indian) and Hussein Shabakash (Pakistani) were deported on Jan. 31 to face charges related to running a drug trafficking syndicate.

They were arrested for allegedly conspiring to import heroin and methamphetamine into the United States. Enditem