In recent days the state police of Reggio Calabria arrested the 46-year-old Francesco Costa from Siderno, born in 1979, recipient of a precautionary custody order in prison for drug crimes.
The man had been unavailable since last November
The restrictive measure was issued on 11 November 2025 by the investigating judge of the Court of Milan and subsequently confirmed, on 1 December 2025, by the investigating judge of the Court of Pavia, at the request of the Milanese judicial authority for territorial jurisdiction. The man had been untraceable since the end of November 2025.
Operation “Skyfall”
The arrest is part of the judicial police operation called “Skyfall”, conducted by the Milan Financial Police and coordinated by the Milan District Anti-Mafia Directorate. The investigation had led to the arrest of 28 people involved, in various capacities, in alleged drug trafficking, including individuals believed to be close to the Barbaro di Platì and Morabito di Africo gangs.
Costa was identified around 11am while he was traveling as a passenger in a car in transit near the sports field in via Dello Sport, in Siderno. According to what investigators reported, the driver of the vehicle initially attempted to evade control. The wanted man was however blocked and arrested; the driver is currently under investigation for aiding and abetting. At the end of the formalities, the 46-year-old was taken to the Locri prison, where he remains at the disposal of the judicial authorities.
Between 2020 and 2021, Costa purchased 15 kilos of cocaine intended for resale
According to what emerged from the investigations – and in compliance with the principle of not guilty until a final sentence – Costa purchased, on six different occasions between 8 July 2020 and 10 February 2021, approximately 15 kilograms of cocaine, which were intended for subsequent resale. The investigations of the “Skyfall” operation made it possible to reconstruct alleged connections and agreements between members of organized crime in Calabria, Lombardy and Campania, shedding light on complex drug trafficking.
Francesco is the son of the late boss Pietro Costa
Francesco Costa is the son of the late boss Pietro Costa, believed to be at the top of the criminal association of the same name together with his brothers Giuseppe and Tommaso. Between the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, the Costa gang was the protagonist of a bloody feud with the Commisso gang, which caused numerous victims on both fronts.