Two Italy 'Ndrangheta mafia bosses found in bunker

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Police raid (pic: Italian police)Image source, EPA
Image caption,

The two fugitives were caught at their well-concealed mountain hideout (pic: Italian police)

Police in the far south of Italy have arrested two top fugitives - 'Ndrangheta mafia bosses who were hiding in a camouflaged bunker.

Giuseppe Ferraro, 47, had been on the run since 1998, and Giuseppe Crea, 37, since 2006. Vegetation concealed their mountain hideout in Reggio Calabria.

Various weapons were seized in the small bunker, which also had cooking equipment and electricity.

The convicted pair have been linked to gangland murders and other crimes.

The police raid took place near the town of Maropati.

The 'Ndrangheta controls much of the world's cocaine trade. Last year Italian police seized several billion euros' worth of 'Ndrangheta assets.

The pair were "living like animals... cut off from society", according to prosecutor Federico Cafiero De Raho, quoted by the AFP news agency. But they were still controlling other gang members from the bunker, he said.

Image source, AFP
Image caption,

Police released images of the raid - one of the captured men is on the left

Image source, AFP
Image caption,

An arsenal, including machine guns, was found in the bunker

Image source, EPA
Image caption,

Thick bushes conceal the bunker entrance and step-ladder