A former mafia boss has been shot dead at his home in Toronto.

Rocco Zito was a senior member of the 'Ndrangheta mafia - which is based in Calabria in Southern Italy.

Officers are said to have arrived at the scene of the scene to find Zito with a gunshot wound.

Despite lifesaving efforts, he was later pronounced dead.

The 87-year-old's son-in-law Domenico Scopelliti (51) has handed himself in and has been charged with first degree murder.

Zito moved to Canada in the mid-1950s.

The Toronto Sun reports Zito was still a man of great influence and respect among the current leaders of the ‘Ndrangheta" despite having kept a low profile in recent decades.