Inside ‘Supergang’ drug cartel the Clan del Golfo ‘who worked with mafia’ in record 4.3 TONNE cocaine bust worth £200m

A FEARED Colombian cartel believed to be working with the mafia in a "Supergang" drugs partnership is allegedly behind a record 4.3 tonne haul of cocaine worth more than £200million seized in Italy.

The Clan del Golfo's leader was recently extradited to the US following a dramatic jungle raid branded the most significant since the fall of Pablo Escobar.

On Tuesday, Italian police announced they had seized 4.3 tonnes of cocaine worth a staggering 240 million Euros (more than £205m) in the northern city of Trieste.

Describing it as one of the biggest-ever drug seizures in Europe, police said it came at the end of an international investigation that saw arrest warrants issued in six different countries.

In total, 38 people are wanted in Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Italy, the Netherlands, and Slovenia following a year-long investigation.

The cocaine was reportedly smuggled into Europe by the Clan del Golfo cartel, who are believed to be the biggest smugglers of the drug in the world.

Besides the drugs, police also confiscated around 1.85 million Euros (£1.58m) in cash.

The raid also involved anti-mafia police in Italy.

This follows fears that the mafia and Colombian drugs cartels have increasingly developed their links to streamline the import of cocaine into Europe.

It is the latest blow to the feared and powerful Clan del Golfo following the arrest and US extradition of its leader Dairo Antonio Usuga David, also known as Otoniel.

The cartel was formed by ex-paramilitaries who refused to take part in a 2006 peace process that aimed to bring an end to Colombia's deadly decades-long civil war.

It allegedly has around 4,000 members spread across 12 of Colombia's 32 regions.

In October last year, UK and US intelligence, working alongside their Colombian counterparts, tracked down Usuga in his jungle hideout.

He was reportedly found hiding half-naked in foliage by soldiers.