REGGIO CALABRIA — Antonino Pesce, a member of the Ndrangheta Calabrian mob was arrested early on Monday morning in a police raid after being on the run for several months, police said.

 Pesce’s first concern after he was captured was whether he had been handed in by one of his own. The 34-year-old boss of the Rosarno gang was not reportedly betrayed by his associates but had been found thanks to the investigative work of the Carabinieri. Pesce was in an apartment block along with three and six-month-old children. His arrest was met with satisfaction by the Interior Minister, Marco Minniti, and by the Minister of Defence, Roberta Pinotti. The Investigation had been following evidence for months left by his friends and associates before capturing the last member of the crime family at large.

  The operation to capture Pesce had led to the commune of Gioia Taura and a ship whose captain’s job it was to smuggle in up to 83 kilos of cocaine from South America. Pesce is accused of criminal association and drug trafficking. It was in the drug trafficking business that Pesce led the criminal organisation with links in Northern Italy after the decimating arrests to members of the crime family. It was his job to finance the operation and to do that he had to oversee the distribution of the drugs from the port of Gioia Tauro as well.

  Pesce would administer the resources of the business, seeing to their distribution to those including the families of those who had already been arrested. Based on this knowledge the police tracked those who were close to him and had the initial breakthrough a few days ago, when they discovered an apartment that was designed for one inhabitant having too many comings and goings. Having monitored the area for several days they began to believe that this was Pesce’s hiding spot and around mid-night on Sunday undertook the successful raid.

 When the police raided the building, they found Pesce as he was throwing a gun he had stolen in Civitanova Marche in 2015 out the rear window of the apartment. He came quietly and was arrested along with the apartment owner, Tonino Becastro, 53, who had been accused of aiding and abetting in the past. It was clear that Pesce was surprised to be found in a place he seldom used and for this reason he was convinced that he had been informed on.