Kriti Mehrotra
Directed by João Marques, Netflix’s ‘Turn of the Tide: The Surreal Story of Rabo de Peixe’ revisits the way cocaine changed the trajectory of a small Portuguese island. It incorporates archival footage and exclusive interviews to really underscore how the drug not only suddenly washed ashore but also overran nearly an entire generation with addiction. A significant part of the narrative is Antonino Quinci, the Italian whose private yacht brought the terrifyingly pure cocaine to the area before everything went haywire.
Antonino Quinci Was a Middleman for International Drug Trafficking
According to records, Antonino Quinci became involved in a life of crime at a relatively young age. The native of Sicily, Italy, allegedly started out on a low level, but he quickly gained such a reputation that he was often trusted with the international drug trade. In fact, in 2001, he reportedly acquired an old Sun Kiss 47 yacht (worth €156,000) under an alias from the leader of a significant smuggling ring, purely for trafficking goods transatlantically. Per official records, less than 4 months later, the Sun Kiss 47 and two other yachts set sail towards three different ports in Spain while carrying over half a ton of 95% pure cocaine each. However, things changed in early June, as Antonino found himself floundering in the ocean near São Miguel’s coastline after his vessel’s rudder was damaged during a big storm in the Atlantic swell.
That’s when he allegedly decided to make his way to Azores/Rabo de Peixe in the hopes of receiving some help, all the while being careful not to make his presence known to port authorities. Antonino was eventually spotted by some good Samaritans, following which he allegedly dumped over 750 kilos of cocaine into the ocean, knowing there was no way he could avoid the officials now. They actually conducted their standard search of his yacht a few days later, immediately resulting in his arrest as they found an open pack matching the hundreds they had already recovered from the water. The fact that he had several fake IDs, with names like Giovanni Speranza and Javier Gomez, didn’t help his case either, and neither did the discovery that he was a long-time drug trafficker.
Antonino Quinci Was Recaptured After Successfully Escaping Prison
As per reports, Antonino initially cooperated with authorities and even indicated that the 750 kilos of uncut cocaine were indeed his responsibility to transport, but he went quiet the next day. The officials were still able to build a case against him, though, because he had kept notes about his trip from Venezuela to Barbados to São Miguel while also having some details about his destination. At the time, they believed he had retracted all his statements and stopped talking out of genuine fear because he had essentially lost millions of dollars/pounds worth of someone else’s cocaine.
The judicial police even wondered if Antonino was scared of his then-girlfriend and two young children subsequently being targeted, but they later realized he was planning his escape. While they had noticed in his records that he had a history of jailbreak too, they never imagined he would simply scale the 3-foot walls of the Ponta Delgada prison on July 1, 2001, in broad daylight. According to reports, he did so during the inmates’ designated recreation time at around 11:25 am and was seemingly unbothered when guards fired warning shots around him with their rifles.
Antonino subsequently got on the small moped waiting for him outside, with his accomplice allegedly being a fellow weekend-only inmate, who then took him to a local drug dealer’s home. The fugitive remained there, perfectly hidden and in contact with his loved ones for a couple of weeks, that is, until the narcotics division conducted a usual raid on the property following a tip. They had no idea the fugitive was right there, cooped up in an outhouse chicken shed, resulting in an unexpected re-arrest and the cocaine smuggling case finally going to court a short while later.
Antonino Quinci is Currently on the Run From Brazilian Authorities
According to records, Antonino ultimately stood trial in the municipality of Ponta Delgada in São Miguel Island, Portugal, where he was found guilty of drug-trafficking, use of a false identity, and prison escape. As a result, he was sentenced to 11 years behind bars, which was reduced to 10 following his appeals to the courts in Lisbon. From what we can tell, he later also requested extradition back to his homeland, meaning he ended up serving his time in prisons in both Portugal and Italy before ultimately being released after a decade.
Antonino seemingly led a rather quiet life after gaining back his freedom, but he was arrested again in 2021 on new drug trafficking charges, according to reports. This time around, he was actually caught smuggling hashish into Brazil, for which he was handed down 8 years. However, he soon managed to escape his house arrest by breaking his electronic ankle bracelet. Since then, despite the best efforts of Brazilian officials, Antonino has remained a fugitive, meaning his current whereabouts are unknown.
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