The super fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro was arrested this morning in Palermo during a raid by the Carabinieri del Ros .

He had been in hiding for 30 years. Now the mafia boss of Castelvetrano (Trapani) has ended up in handcuffs.

Denaro, who did not resist, was inside the "La Maddalena" private clinic , where he was being treated , according to what is learned, in the Oncology department for about a year for colon cancer under the name of Andrea Bonafede .

"What's your name?" the police asked. " I am Matteo Messina Denaro ", the first words of the boss after his arrest.

The mafia boss would have tried to leave at the sight of the carabinieri. An attempt of a few moments stopped by the men of the Ros.

The operation was coordinated by the Palermo prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia and the deputy prosecutor Paolo Guido .

The super fugitive, initially taken to the San Lorenzo barracks, is now on his way to the Boccadifalco airport to be taken to a maximum security prison . The same thing happened to boss Totò Riina, arrested on January 15th 30 years ago.

"Matteo Messina Denaro was captured thanks to the Dalla Chiesa method , i.e. the collection of a large number of information data from the many carabinieri departments, on the road, through telephone interceptions, state databases, administrative regions to lead to this morning's arrest" , the words of the commander of the carabinieri Teo Luzi, who arrived in Palermo.

THE REACTIONS – «It is a day of celebration for all honest and decent people. A great victory for the state which demonstrates that it does not give up in the face of the mafia », the words of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni , who immediately left for Palermo to congratulate the forces of order. «I like to imagine – added Meloni – that this could be the day in which the work of the men and women who carried on the war against the mafia is celebrated. And it is a proposal that I will make ».

"My warmest thanks, together with those of the whole government, go to the police forces, and in particular to the Ros dei Carabinieri, to the National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor and to the Palermo Prosecutor's Office for the capture of the most significant exponent of mafia crime" , continued the premier. And again: "The government ensures that the fight against mafia crime will continue without respite , as demonstrated by the fact that the first provision of this executive - the defense of the impediment prison - concerned precisely this matter".

From the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella , congratulations on the arrest with a telephone call to the Minister of the Interior and the Commander of the Carabinieri .

"Great satisfaction for a historic result in the fight against the mafia", the words of the interior minister Matteo Piantedosi as soon as he heard the news of the arrest of Matteo Messina Denaro. «Congratulations - he added - to the Public Prosecutor's Office of Palermo and to the Carabinieri who have brought to justice a very dangerous fugitive. An extraordinary day for the State and for all those who have always fought against the mafias".

"Palermo and Sicily woke up this morning with the news of the arrest of the mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro: this will be a day that will remain in the history of our country", the words of the mayor of Palermo Roberto Lagalla . «The capture of the boss represents a great victory for the state and a turning point in the fight that the institutions and the forces of order are carrying out in the fight against mafia power. My heartfelt thanks go to the Carabinieri del Ros, to the Prosecutor of the Republic of Palermo Maurizio De Lucia and his collaborators who conducted the investigations, and to all the men and women of the judiciary and of the police forces who, during the years of fugitive of the boss, have worked tirelessly to achieve this result today».

"The world is a little safer today," the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola , wrote on Twitter, relaunching the tweet of the foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, on the arrest of the boss Matteo Messina Denaro.

IN SARDINIA – " Gratitude and admiration for the forces of order and the judiciary for the arrest of Matteo Messina Denaro" are expressed by the President of the Sardinian region Christian Solinas . «A great victory of the law over crime, of honest society over that horrendous tumor that is the mafia, as well as all forms of organized crime. It is a bright day that helps us hope for a better society» the words of Solinas.

"A great result for justice" were the words in the morning of Cagliari's attorney general Luigi Patronaggio , who was part of the anti-mafia pool that arrested Riina.

(Unioneonline)

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