Italy's "Master of Escapes" Caught in Spain

Spanish police arrested one of Italy's most wanted fugitives in Tarragona. Known as the "Master of Escapes" for breaking out of prison four times, he was the subject of a European arrest warrant issued by Italy.

The man had been on the run since December 2025, when he escaped from a maximum-security Italian prison. During a guard shift change, he cut through the bars of a window and rappelled down using sheets tied together. He was serving a sentence for robbery, theft and drug trafficking that was not due to end until 2048.

He first escaped from a prison in Terni in 2009, then from a prison in Parma in 2013. After being recaptured in Liège, Belgium, he escaped again, this time scaling a wall using a human pyramid.

Acting on information from Europol, police tracked him down in the Campclar neighborhood. He put up fierce resistance during the arrest, and one of his accomplices injured two police officers. Another accomplice discarded a handgun while fleeing.

The suspect was found in possession of fake identification and two suspicious €500 ($583) bills. A court ordered him remanded in custody, where he will await extradition to Italy.

(diaridetarragona, lud)