
A former drug trafficker has handed over an artificial island he owns off the coast of Dubai to Italian authorities in the hope of a reduced sentence.
The announcement was made during the trial in Naples on Monday, involving about 20 defendants, including Raffaele Imperiale, nicknamed "Boss Van Gogh", an international drug trafficker for the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia.
Imperiale, who had been on the run for five years, was arrested in Dubai in August 2021 and extradited to Italy in March 2022. According to investigators, Imperiale bought the island, called Taiwan, while in hiding.
The value of the island is estimated at 60-80 million euros and is part of an artificial archipelago off the coast of the United Arab Emirates called "The World" and shaped like a map of the globe.
Imperiale, who faces up to 14 years and 10 months in prison, is trying to show his willingness to cooperate with authorities in hopes of getting a reduced sentence.
Italian authorities consider the Imperiale group to be one of the 50 largest drug cartels in the world.
