Top Mafia boss arrested in Italy
Gerlandino Messina, Sicilian Mafia’s second-in-command, is nabbed after he had been on the run for 11 years.
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| The arrest is the latest in a string of high profile arrests of top mobsters by Italian police [EPA] |
Italian security forces have arrested one of the country’s 30 most wanted Mafia fugitives.
Gerlandino Messina, 38, was arrested on Saturday in the Sicilian town of Favara, after he had been on the run for 11 years.
He was wanted for several murders and criminal association with the mafia.
In a statement, Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, said the arrest was the latest evidence of the government’s “unprecedented success” in cracking down on organised crime.
Italian media said Messina is widely considered the Sicilian Mafia’s second-in-command behind top boss
Matteo Messina Denaro, who is still on the run.
The ANSA news agency said that Messina had been convicted and sentenced in absentia to life in prison for mafia association and a series of murders.
The arrest is the latest in a string of high profile arrests of top mobsters by Italian police.
An Italian interior ministry statement said 28 of the 30 most dangerous mobsters were now in jail, but Italian media said more names had been added to the list, which is regularly updated by authorities, and 16 top mafia bosses were still wanted.