The month-long hunt for Jang Bobo, a 38-year-old Chinese drug dealer, has taken an unexpected turn in Prato. The mobile task force had arrested Bobo with half a kilo of synthetic drugs (shaboo and ketamine), thousands of euros and a Taiwanese passport. But then he made a spectacular escape.
The criminal, who had already been convicted several times and had been prosecuted by the Prato public prosecutor's office for over a year, inexplicably freed himself from his handcuffs and escaped from police custody. Public prosecutor Luca Tescaroli attributed the escape to the "inadequate staffing" of the otherwise efficient task force.
Jang Bobo, also known as the "king of the Chinese drug barons" in Italy, was well known to the authorities in Tuscany and Milan. He was considered the head of an organization that produced forged documents and traded illegally in stolen luxury goods. On a previous occasion, he was surprised with an extensive arsenal of weapons.
Despite this criminal past and a request from the public prosecutor's office for pre-trial detention, an investigating judge initially only imposed a ban on residing in the provinces of Prato, Florence and Pistoia. This sentence was later converted into a prison sentence by the Florence Court of Appeal, which became final on July 3, 2025. However, before Bobo could be transferred, he managed to escape again. The search for him is in full swing.
