Spanish police have arrested a fugitive dubbed the “Master of Escapes” after he broke out of prison four times, including a dramatic escape from a maximum-security facility in Italy.
The man, who is wanted by Italian authorities under a European arrest warrant, was apprehended in the northeastern Spanish city of Tarragona after investigators traced him to a neighbourhood where he was believed to be staying.
According to Spain’s National Police, the fugitive escaped from an Italian prison in December by sawing through window bars before lowering himself to the ground using knotted bedsheets.
His previous prison breaks include escapes from facilities in Terni and Parma in Italy, as well as a prison in Belgium, where he reportedly used a human pyramid with other inmates to scale the walls.
Spanish authorities described him as dangerous but did not disclose his identity or the offences that led to his imprisonment.
Police said the arrest was not without resistance. The fugitive allegedly fought officers as they moved to apprehend him, while several people accompanying him attempted to intervene. One of those involved allegedly injured two police officers during the confrontation.
Investigators also recovered false identification documents and two €500 banknotes suspected to be counterfeit from the suspect.
Following his arrest, a Spanish judge ordered him to remain in provisional custody without bail while extradition proceedings to Italy are pursued.
The arrest brings an end, at least temporarily, to a remarkable run of prison escapes that has seen the fugitive repeatedly defeat security measures in different European countries.
Spanish authorities are now working with their Italian counterparts as legal proceedings continue to determine his extradition and return to Italy.
