Italy's most-wanted mafia boss arrested in Sicily

He has been on the run for about 30 years.

In Summary

• He is alleged to be a boss of Sicily's notorious Cosa Nostra mafia.

Image: FILE

Italy's most-wanted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro has been arrested in Sicily after 30 years on the run.

Messina Denaro was reportedly detained in a private clinic in Sicily's capital Palermo.

He is alleged to be a boss of Sicily's notorious Cosa Nostra mafia.

Italian media reported that he had been receiving treatment when he was arrested just before 10:00 (09:00 GMT) and taken away by the Carabinieri.

He was tried and sentenced to life in jail in absentia over numerous murders.

These include the 1992 killing of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, the deadly 1993 bomb attacks in Milan, Florence and Rome, and the kidnapping, torture and killing of the 11-year-old son of a mafioso turned state witness.

"This is a great victory for the state," said Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni.

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