17 Jan 2023

Last "godfather" of Sicilian mafia arrested

From Morning Report, 8:25 am on 17 January 2023

Italy's most-wanted Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro has been arrested in Sicily after 30 years on the run.

Mr Denaro was reportedly detained in a private clinic in Sicily's capital, Palermo, where he was receiving treatment for cancer.

Considered the boss of the notorious Cosa Nostra Mafia, he was tried and sentenced to life in jail in absentia in 2002 over numerous murders.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has celebrated his arrest, but says the war against the mafia isn't over.

Davide Lerner, a journalist based in Rome, spoke to Charlotte Cook.