The last known image of Marco Raduano was a silent video taken by a surveillance camera at the high-security prison in Nuoro, Sardinia: the man's silhouette is seen rappelling out of the building using white sheets tied together, then he disappeared from the screen. On February 24, 2023, Marco Raduano, boss of the Vieste Mafia clan in northern Puglia, became Italy's most wanted fugitive.

The end of the road for the man nicknamed "Faccia d'Angelo" (Angel Face), as well as "Pallone" (Ball), came on Thursday February 1, just as he was about to dine in an elegant restaurant in Bastia, Corsica, where he thought he had lost the carabinieri on his trail. The photograph of his capture shows the 40-year-old round-faced man, dressed in black, kept under control by a French gendarme whose face is masked by a balaclava. Less than a year after his spectacular escape, Raduano is no longer on the list of Italy's most dangerous fugitives, nor of Europol's "most wanted."

Five Italian carabinieri accompanied gendarmes from the local branch of the Gendarmerie's Section de Recherche (SR, Research Section) for this operation. Raduano was immediately transferred to the premises of the SR, on a secure military site, where he has since been questioned. The initial information gathered about his life on the island points to a discreet existence, living under a false identity but without depriving himself of social activities, such as this planned evening out at a restaurant, accompanied by a young woman.

"We patiently worked on the list of people who could help him manage his escape, until we got close to his sanctuary," recounted Michele Miulli, commander of the Foggia province carabinieri, which was in charge of the investigation from day one. With the help of the Raggruppamento Operativo Speciale (ROS) – a unit specializing in the fight against organized crime and which was recently involved in the discovery of Matteo Messina Denaro, in Sicily – investigations have captured this leader of the "fourth mafia," whose territory extends over the northern Apulia region. He is a man reputed to be "bloodthirsty, calculating and determined," according to Miulli.

Italy's interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, hailed this "new blow against to crime." Reputed to be the head of the clan reigning over the seaside town of Vieste, "Pallone's" pedigree gives this capture historic significance. Two major anti-mafia operations, "Neve di Marzo" and "Omnia Nostra," brought to light the ultra-violent methods of Marco Raduano and his men, masters of extortion and drug trafficking. The ex-fugitive cannot hope to be released before 2046.

You have 55% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.