On February 11, 2014 Lupio and six other mob associates were arrested on charges of narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and firearms offenses based, in part, on their participation in a transnational heroin and cocaine trafficking conspiracy involving the ‘Ndrangheta, one of Italy’s most powerful organized crime syndicates. Among those arrested were New York based Ndrangheta member Raffaele Valente (Lello) and longtime Bonanno associate Charles Centaro (Charlie Pepsi). In Calabria, Italy, as a part of a coordinated operation, Italian law enforcement authorities arrested 17 members and associates of the ‘Ndrangheta who were involved in the narcotics trafficking conspiracy, among other crimes.