ROME: A drug dealer from Naples who was on the run since 2003 and was on Europol's most wanted list was extradited from Syria and taken into custody in Rome on Tuesday.

Bruno Carbone, 45, an important drug supplier for the Camorra mafia in Naples, who served a 20-year prison sentence from an Italian court for international drug trafficking, was arrested at Rome's Ciampino airport on Tuesday morning, according to Naples police. 

According to an official in an area in northwestern Syria held by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Carbone was detained in March "while passing through 'free' areas with the aim of reaching regime-controlled areas."

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The official, Mohammad Sankri, said on a Telegram channel that he had been "handed over to his country as per the rules in force."

According to Italian media, the United Arab Emirates is where Carbone spent a large part of his time while evading captivity.

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He then moved to regime-held areas of Syria, "which he considered the best shelter from the law", according to Dhiya 'al-Omar, a spokeswoman for the HTS security service, the SITE intelligence group that monitors jihadist websites. He later moved to Europe, Turkey and Syria.

According to SITE, he pretended to be a Mexican who had fled his country after he was caught selling counterfeit Rolex watches.

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In 2021, the United Arab Emirates announced the arrest of Carbone, only to learn that the man was "a stand-in presented as bait by Bruno so that he