Introduction

In the world of organized crime between Latin America and Europe, allegiances shift, and the stakes are always high. Vincenzo Pasquino, born in Turin, Italy, in 1990, stepped into the realm of narcotrafficking with seemingly low- key ventures that would then grant him a pivotal role in an international drug trafficking network.

By October 2017, after a period of personal and professional challenges, Pasquino found himself back in Calabria. He was not from Calabria, but his family was. His return was not merely a homecoming: it was an invitation to invest in the connection of Calabria with Brazil, a crucial nexus in the cocaine trade. The demand for narcotics in Gioia Tauro was growing, and the appeal of the drug trade was, for him, irresistible. Partnering with Nicola and Patrick Assisi and Rocco Morabito, prominent figures in the Brazilian underworld linked to the ‘ndrangheta, Pasquino embarked on orchestrating shipments of cocaine, deftly navigating the treacherous waters of law enforcement and rival factions. According to operation Mafiusi in Brazil, during the operation against the Assisi, ‘it was possible to gather various pieces of evidence (…) proving, in concrete terms, the existence of a direct link with the members of the ORCRIM then headed by Jeferson Barcelos and the seizures of cocaine shipments at the Port of Paranaguá’.

Pasquino's story unfolded against a backdrop of calculated decisions and high stakes. A pivotal moment occurred during an attempt to transport 50 kilograms of cocaine, an operation that ultimately fell into the hands of law enforcement.