Italian police have arrested Sicilian mob boss Matteo Messina Denaro after a decades-long hunt, a year and a half after a Formula 1 fan who looked like the criminal was arrested in a mistaken identity case.
Denaro had been on the run since 1993, when he became one of Italy’s most wanted men following a series of bombings that killed 10 people and injured nearly 100 others , for which his mafia group Cosa Nostra would be responsible.
Reports indicate that Denaro personally committed other serious crimes and, in his capacity as the “godfather” of the Mafia, was involved in organized crime activities motivated by the money and power of the Cosa Nostra over the years. years, such as drug trafficking.
Ahead of the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix, an F1 fan from Liverpool who was traveling to Zandvoort to watch the race was arrested in The Hague while dining in a restaurant. The innocent fan was blindfolded and taken to a high-security Dutch prison by police who mistook him for internationally wanted crime lord Denaro. Europol, a European law enforcement agency known for tracking down international criminals, is based in The Hague.
An expedited investigation into the fan’s alibi and identity concluded he was in fact an F1 enthusiast from Liverpool and not part of an organized crime ring, and he was released by Dutch police. The real Denaro was finally arrested yesterday.
Image: police document
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