Dressed in standard prison white, Imperiale told magistrate Maurizio de Marco that he intended to “change his life” and set an example for his family. Over 50 sessions, Imperiale detailed how he flooded Europe with cocaine, reportedly making up to €500 million in profit per year and selling €16 million worth of cocaine in a good month before his 2021 arrest.
From Naples Mafia Roots to Dubai Super-Cartel
Imperiale was raised in Castellammare di Stabia near Naples, in a middle-class family. Fascinated by local Camorra bosses, he began smuggling cocaine and firearms from Amsterdam to Naples, helping trigger an inter-clan mafia war in 2004 that left 70 dead.
By 2010, Imperiale had moved to Dubai, building a highly organised cocaine operation. Using sophisticated smuggling techniques, including vacuum-packing shipments and bleaching them to fool sniffer dogs, he ran a network sourcing cocaine from Latin America and distributing it across Europe.
He reportedly spent millions on personal luxuries and investments, including artificial islands, luxury villas, and exclusive experiences for his children. Imperiale’s Dubai network included brokers, drivers, cooks, and even staff caring for his exotic pets.
The Dubai Super-Cartel
Imperiale allied with other major traffickers in Dubai, including Dutch-Moroccan criminal Ridouan Taghi, and attended high-profile events such as the wedding of suspected Irish trafficker Daniel Kinahan in 2017.
According to co-author Daniela de Crescenzo, the super-cartel was a shifting alliance, buying into each other’s shipments but also competing violently when necessary. Imperiale’s innovative approach to money laundering involved working with people running legal tax scams, allowing him to launder large sums efficiently.
Capture and Imprisonment
Imperiale’s downfall began in 2020 when police cracked the encrypted phones used by him and other traffickers worldwide. He was extradited from Dubai to Italy in 2021. Despite his arrest, Imperiale remains optimistic about the future, studying for a sociology degree in jail and planning strategies for his appeal against a 25-year sentence due on 2 December.
De Marco described Imperiale as calm, intelligent, and highly articulate, even apologising for language mix-ups and using formal politeness in Italian. His credibility among criminals and mafia networks was built on honesty and consistent word-of-mouth trust, earning him praise from the Italian ’Ndrangheta as “the world number one.”
