It was another chapter in a real-life story with all the best marks of classic mafia movies – such as daring escapes and exotic islands.
The Italian Police confirmed the arrest of high-profile fugitive Marco Raduano, head of a little-known organized crime syndicate in Foggia, in the southern Italian region of Puglia, known as the ‘Fourth Mafia’.
The 40-year-old mafia boss broke out of the high-security wing of Nuoro, in Sardinia, using the time-honored method of knotted bedsheets to scale down the prison walls.
His capture came as a relief for the authorities, since his escape meant significant embarrassment for the Italian Justice.
Raduano heads one of Italy’s most violent mafias, and was arrested on Thursday evening (1), as he was dining at a restaurant with a young woman.
CBS reported:
“Raduano, described as ‘dangerous’ on Europol’s list of Europe’s most wanted criminals, was detained in Bastia on the French island of Corsica.
He had escaped from a heavily secured prison in Nuoro, Sardinia, in February 2023, using sheets to scale down the walls. The escape was captured on surveillance footage and shared widely on social media. In the video, Raduano can be seen dangling from the sheets before jumping to the ground and running away.”
Come fa un boss mafioso a evadere da un carcere di massima sicurezza? Calandosi con le lenzuola annodate dal muro di cinta. È successo a Nuoro con la fuga di Marco Raduano pic.twitter.com/XJOyWf1OGS
— Marco Fattorini (@MarcoFattorini) February 26, 2023
Raduano’s prison was not the only recent setback for the ‘Fourth Mafia’, since his right-hand man, Gianluigi Troiano, was also arrested near Granada, in Spain.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi described the actions as ‘another major blow against organized crime’.
“[Raduano] had been serving a 24-year prison sentence for membership of a criminal organization, drug trafficking, holding illegal weapons and other crimes, according to Europol.
A source close to the matter in Corsica told AFP that Raduano was arrested on Thursday evening in Aleria, as he was dining in a restaurant with a young woman.”
Sources tell he had been living there frugally on false papers, and did not resist arrest.
“Europol said he was ‘at the top’ of his criminal organization, ‘with the role of promoter, organizer and ruthless killer of the group dedicated to the perpetration of murders, drug trafficking and management of the extortion racket’, it said.”
The largest (and legendary) Italian criminal organizations are the wealthy ‘Ndrangheta from Calabria, the Naples-based Camorra and Sicily’s Cosa Nostra.
But the young Fourth Mafia is today already considered Italy’s most violent organized crime syndicate.
They rely on extortions, drug trafficking, armed robberies, as well as vehicle and livestock theft.
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This story originally appeared on TheGateWayPundit
