Marco Raduano: Italian mafia boss who escaped prison using bed sheets re-captured

Marco Raduano, an Italian mafia boss who has been on the run after escaping from a maximum security prison last year by using bed sheets, has been captured in France, authorities say.

Raduano, who heads up the the Gargano Mafia in the southern Italian region of Puglia, broke out of a Sardinian prison last February.

He was serving a 24-year sentence for drug trafficking offences and, after his escape, was listed as one of Europol's top 10 most dangerous fugitives.

A multi-agency operation caught the 40-year-old outside a luxury restaurant in Bastia, Corsica, where he was dining with a female companion.

Raduano's right-hand man, Gianluigi Troiano, was also apprehended in a separate sting by authorities in Granada, Spain. He had been evading police capture since 2021, after fleeing house arrest.

The District Anti-Mafia Directorate of Bari ordered the joint-operation, which was carried out by Italy's Special Operations Group - or ROS - and the provincial command of Foggia, in Puglia.

A statement from Italy's Interior Ministry said the Spanish Guardia Civil and the French Gendarmerie Nationale also co-operated in the arrest.

Raduano's escape from prison lasted only 16 seconds and he fled on foot with no guards noticing or giving chase, which led to an internal investigation of the facility he was being held in.

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