Italy's most-wanted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro arrested in Sicily - BBC

Italy's most-wanted mafia brag Matteo Messina Denaro has been arrested successful Sicily aft 30 years connected the run.

Messina Denaro was reportedly detained successful a backstage session successful Sicily's capital, Palermo, wherever helium was receiving attraction for cancer.

He is alleged to beryllium a brag of the notorious Cosa Nostra mafia and helium was tried and sentenced to beingness successful jailhouse successful absentia successful 2002 implicit galore murders.

More than 100 members of the equipped forces were progressive successful his arrest.

Italian media reported that Messina Denaro was captured conscionable earlier 10:00 (09:00 GMT) and taken to a concealed determination by the Carabinieri. He was reportedly visiting the session nether a fake sanction for a people of chemotherapy.

A video circulated by Italian media appears to amusement radical lasting successful the thoroughfare and applauding the Italian constabulary arsenic Messina Denaro is led away.

Among the murders helium was convicted implicit are the 1992 sidesplitting of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, the deadly 1993 weaponry attacks successful Milan, Florence and Rome, and the kidnapping, torture and sidesplitting of the 11-year-old lad of a mafioso turned authorities witness.

Messina Denaro erstwhile boasted helium could "fill a cemetery" with his victims.

The mafia brag besides oversaw racketeering, amerciable discarded dumping, money-laundering and drug-trafficking for the almighty Cosa Nostra organised transgression syndicate. He was reportedly the protege of Totò Riina, the caput of the Corleone clan, who was arrested successful 1993 aft 23 years connected the run.

Clans nicknamed Messina Denaro "Diabolik" - the sanction of an uncatchable thief successful a comic publication bid - and "U Siccu" (Skinny).

He is thought to beryllium Cosa Nostra's past "secret-keeper". Many informers and prosecutors judge that helium holds each the accusation and the names of who were progressive successful respective of the astir high-profile crimes by the Mafia, including the weaponry attacks that killed magistrates Falcone and Borsellino.

Although Messina Denaro had been a fugitive since 1993, helium was thought to person inactive been issuing orders to his subordinates from assorted concealed locations.

Over the decades, Italian investigators often came adjacent to catching Messina Denaro by monitoring those closest to him. This resulted successful the apprehension of his sister Patrizia and respective different of his associates successful 2013. Police besides seized invaluable businesses linked to Messina Denaro, leaving him progressively isolated.

However, fewer photos of Messina Denaro existed and constabulary had to trust connected integer composites to reconstruct his quality successful the decades aft helium went connected the run. A signaling of his dependable was not released until 2021.

In September 2021, a Formula 1 instrumentality from Liverpool was arrested astatine gunpoint in a edifice successful the Netherlands aft being mistaken for Messina Denaro.

Italians were glued to the screens connected Monday greeting erstwhile quality of the apprehension of the mafia brag broke.

For years, Messina Denaro had been a awesome of the state's inability to scope the precocious echelons of the organised transgression syndicates. His apprehension volition beryllium an unexpected motion of anticipation that the mafia tin beryllium eradicated adjacent successful the confederate regions of the country, wherever the authorities is perceived arsenic mostly absent and ineffective.

University of Essex criminology prof Anna Sergi told the BBC that Messina Denaro's apprehension was "symbolic not conscionable due to the fact that helium was the brag of Cosa Nostra, but due to the fact that helium represents the past fugitive the Italian authorities truly wanted to get its hands on. That's wherefore we saw radical clap successful Palermo and wherefore the authorities is triumphant - due to the fact that the quality feels similar closure."

However, questions are apt to originate implicit the timing of the arrest.

"It is yet unclear however the Monday greeting raid connected the session came about, who tipped disconnected the authorities oregon - crucially - however it was imaginable for Messina Denaro to tally astir Sicily, presumably protected, for 30 years," Prof Sergi said.

"We present cognize Messina Denaro was being cured for crab truthful is rather sick. That is wherefore radical are saying idiosyncratic wrong the transgression satellite decided helium was nary longer useful. This means helium was apt inactive portion of operation wherever determination is an speech of favours betwixt the mafia and state, and wherever 1 tin beryllium fixed up successful instrumentality for something," helium added.

In the aftermath of the arrest, tributes to the enactment of the equipped forces poured successful from crossed the governmental spectrum.

Gian Carlo Caselli, a justice and erstwhile authoritative general, said that the apprehension of Messina Denaro was an "exceptional... simply humanities event" that mightiness pb to important developments successful the ongoing inquiries into the 1993 weaponry attacks that killed 10 radical crossed Italy.

Italy's president, Sergio Mattarella, whose member Piersanti was killed by Cosa Nostra successful 1980, congratulated the curate of the interior and the Carabinieri.

Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni besides thanked the equipped forces for their enactment successful detaining the "most important subordinate of the mafia transgression group", adding: "This is simply a large triumph for the state."

Additional reporting by Daniele Palumbo