Matteo Messina Denaro: How Mafia boss was caught on a visit to a clinic - BBC

Italy's astir wanted mobster was heading to a cafe extracurricular a backstage Sicilian session erstwhile a policeman approached him and asked him his name.

He simply looked up and said: "You cognize who I am. I americium Matteo Messina Denaro."

Until that moment, the equipped forces could not beryllium definite the antheral truly was the Mafia "boss of each bosses", who they had been hunting for 3 decades.

He checked successful for an assignment astatine the session nether the sanction of Andrea Bonafede.

But aft years of painstaking research, and lone a computerised representation to spell on, Italy's Carabinieri subject constabulary were assured capable helium was the antheral they were looking for.

During his clip astatine the apical of the Cosa Nostra organised transgression syndicate, Messina Denaro oversaw racketeering, amerciable discarded dumping, money-laundering and drug-trafficking. He was convicted successful absentia successful 2002 of a drawstring of murders.

He was reportedly the protege of Totò Riina, caput of the Corleone clan, who was arrested successful 1993 aft 23 years connected the run.

That was besides the twelvemonth that Messina Denaro vanished. For 30 years investigators could trust lone connected a facial composite and abbreviated snippets of dependable recordings to place him.

Reported sightings placed him everyplace from Venezuela to the Netherlands. But it was successful Palermo - the bosom of his homeland of Sicily - that helium was caught.

"It took truthful agelong to apprehension him because, arsenic it happened with different Mafia bosses, helium was protected by a precise dense web of complicities, deeply-rooted and highly almighty successful Sicily and beyond," Italian writer Andrea Purgatori told the BBC.

Many had assumed Monday's apprehension was the effect of a tip-off by Messina Denaro's associates, who decided the ailing brag was nary longer utile to them.

After all, for a agelong clip Italy's most-wanted mafioso had felt protected capable "to locomotion freely successful the streets of Palermo, the motivation superior of Cosa Nostra," said Mr Purgatori.

In the extremity helium was recovered successful the centre of a engaged city: hardly a hidden spot. After 30 years of searching, what had yet led the constabulary to him?

At a quality conference, constabulary dismissed the mentation of a tip-off. Instead, they said they had combined old-school investigative methods with modern exertion to constrictive down their suspects.

"Over the years, a benignant of smokescreen formed astir Messina Denaro, made up of a web of radical loyal to him," said Mitja Gialuz, lawyer and prof of transgression process astatine LUISS University successful Rome.

For implicit a decade, constabulary cracked down connected anyone suspected of protecting oregon aiding Messina Denaro. More than 100 radical were arrested, including Denaro's siblings, and businesses worthy implicit €150m (£130m) were seized.

"This gradually weakened his web and… yet made him much vulnerable," said Gen Teo Luzi. The smokescreen had started to clear.

Meanwhile, the homes of Messina Denaro's relatives were wiretapped.

They indispensable person been alert that their conversations were being listened to, and truthful lone talked astir "people with cancer" and "cancer surgeries" successful generic terms.

Yet that was capable to extremity investigators disconnected - particularly owed to longstanding rumours that Messina Denaro was sick.

These intercepts, combined with monitoring of net searches connected Crohn's illness and liver crab by Messina Denaro's associates, led the Carabinieri to presume the Mafia brag was seeking treatment.

They past gathered the details of each antheral crab patients calved successful 1962 adjacent Trapani, successful occidental Sicily. Investigators zoomed into their lives, narrowing down the hunt to 10 suspects, past five.

One sanction jumped retired astatine them: Andrea Bonafede, the nephew of deceased Mafia brag Leonardo Bonafede.

A antheral identifying arsenic Bonafede is said to person had country successful Palermo twice, successful 2020 and 2021. But phone-mapping enactment the existent Bonafede's telephone acold distant from the Sicilian superior connected 1 of the 2 days helium seemingly went nether the knife.

When a chemotherapy league was booked nether his name, the Carabinieri knew it was their chance. On Monday morning, much than 100 members of the equipped forces surrounded La Maddalena clinic.

Messina Denaro was walking to a cafe erstwhile helium noticed the dense constabulary presence. He made to crook back, but spotted much constabulary closing disconnected the street. He didn't run. Perhaps he, too, had known it was conscionable a substance of time.

Details of however Messina Denaro lived earlier his apprehension are present starting to emerge. He was surviving successful an unassuming location successful Campobello di Mazara, 116km from Palermo.

A neighbour told Italian TV that helium often saw the antheral and that they would greet 1 different regularly.

Police recovered nary weapons successful the hideout, according to archetypal reports, but alternatively luxury perfumes, costly furnishings and decorator clothes.

Messina Denaro's sensation for high-end items was well-known. When helium was arrested, helium was reportedly wearing a ticker worthy €35,000. Police said that acold from looking similar a "destroyed man", helium seemed similar "a well-groomed antheral successful a bully economical condition".

While helium was a root of vexation for authorities and his victims' families, the information that it took authorities truthful agelong to drawback Messina Denaro fuelled his myth, said Prof Gialuz.

"Of course, helium was forced to unrecorded highly cautiously, and had to cipher each determination to perfection."

His associates' net searches whitethorn person contributed to Messina Denaro's arrest, but it is improbable the brag himself ever utilized exertion due to the fact that of the hazard of leaving integer traces.

"A Mafia boss, successful bid to proceed to run undisturbed, has to enactment distant from technology, and instrumentality to an astir primitive mode of life, going backmost to the roots of verbal communication, and creating a parallel and blase concealed codification of connection with his allies," Prof Gialuz explained.

Italians person been transfixed by the arrest. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew consecutive to Sicily to congratulate the equipped forces arsenic praise poured successful from each sides of the governmental spectrum.

"Messina Denaro was the past godfather of the astir ferocious procreation of mafiosi. After helium went into hiding, Cosa Nostra wholly changed its attitude, becoming a much soundless and astir invisible, submerged organisation," writer Andrea Purgatori told the BBC.

The mobster erstwhile boasted helium could capable a cemetery with his victims. Mr Purgatori said until the 1990s, murders were being committed connected a regular basis.

"Messina Denaro committed immoderate of the astir convulsive and cruel crimes Italy tin remember," helium said. In 2002 helium was tried and sentenced to beingness successful jailhouse successful absentia. His murders include:

University of Essex criminology prof Anna Sergi told the BBC it was doubtful Cosa Nostra could past without its mythological boss, who had go the awesome of the Mafia's resilience.

"Who is going to instrumentality implicit - oregon so if anyone tin - remains to beryllium seen," she said.