According to investigators, the balding passenger with glasses was Denaro. In the clip, recorded from a closed circuit security camera on a gravel road in the province of Agrigento, in Sicily, two men can be seen in an SUV. On 30 September that year, Italian police released a video from 2009 in which his face can be glimpsed from afar. In August 2021, the Italian public TV broadcaster Rai released a recording, dating back to March 1993, in which the voice of Denaro was identified for the first time during a trial in which he was called to testify before going into hiding. game is under development, though it remains to be seen whether it will be titled Mafia 4. Little by little, Italian prosecutors scorched the earth around Denaro, cutting off all his contact with his family and his supporters who protected him in hiding. Year after year, Italian police investigators relentlessly seized his businesses and arrested more than 100 of his confederates, including cousins, nephews and his sister. He was released a few days later.ĭespite his powerful protection network, Denaro had become increasingly isolated in recent years, according to mafia informants. The arrest came after Italy allegedly asked the Dutch authorities for the execution of an international arrest warrant, believing that the man was Denaro. In September 2021, a 54-year-old Briton from Liverpool was handcuffed at a restaurant in The Hague in the Netherlands by heavily armed police who pulled a hood over his head and dragged him out in front of dozens of terrified customers. In 2019, the Carabinieri military police raided a Sicilian hospital to arrest a man from Castelvetrano who was recovering in the neurology unit. Over the years, dozens of people have been arrested in his place in cases of mistaken identity. Some informants revealed that Denaro underwent facial plastic surgery to conceal his identity, while others stated he had had his fingerprints removed. With only a few identity pictures taken in the late 1980s and early 90s, the Italian authorities reconstructed his appearance digitally, using the latest computer technology and information provided by Mafia turncoats. The quest to locate Denaro was complicated by the near-complete absence of recent photographs. The dedication of the Carabinieri and, in general, of all the police forces have been fundamental. Maurizio De Lucia, the Palermo chief prosecutor, said: “The arrest of Matteo Messina Denaro is the result of long and difficult investigations. He was known for wearing expensive suits, a Rolex and Ray-Ban sunglasses. The mobster, who once infamously claimed, “I filled a cemetery, all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. My warmest thanks and those of the entire government go to the police forces … and the Palermo prosecutor’s office, for the capture of the most significant figure in the mafia.” Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said: “This is a great victory for the Italian state, which shows we should never surrender to the mafia. A composite picture showing a computer-generated image of Matteo Messina Denaro released by the Italian police (right), with a real picture of Denaro.
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