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Italian killer with mafia links arrested in France after 16 years on the run

A convicted murderer linked to one of Italy's most powerful mafia organisations was arrested on Thursday in central France, Interpol said.

Italian killer with mafia links arrested in France after 16 years on the run
Police arrested Edgardo Greco in central France on Thursday after a manhunt lasting 16 years. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)

Edgardo Greco, 63, is suspected of belonging to the notorious ‘Ndrangheta, a powerful mafia organisation in Calabria, southern Italy.

He is wanted in Italy to serve a life sentence for the murders of Stefano and Giuseppe Bartolomeo, and accused of the attempted murder of Emiliano Mosciaro “as part of a mafia war between the Pino Sena and Perna Pranno gangs that marked the early 1990s”, Interpol said.

The Bartolomeo brothers were beaten to death with iron bars in a fish warehouse, Italian police said.

Greco’s arrest in central France came with help for Italy and France from the “Cooperation against ‘Ndrangheta Project” (I-CAN) run by Interpol, which facilitates police cooperation between its 195 member states.

READ ALSO: Italian police seize €250 million and arrest 56 in latest mafia blitz

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, quoted in Interpol’s statement, said the arrests demonstrated his country’s commitment to “fighting all forms of organised crime and locating dangerous fugitives”.

The ‘Ndrangheta is considered Italy’s most extensive and powerful mafia group, Interpol said, operating worldwide and with strong ties to the trade in cocaine bound for Europe from South America

I-CAN’s job is help raise awareness of ‘Ndrangheta and their modus operandi, sharing police information to dismantle their networks and operations, the agency said.

The arrest of Greco, who worked in the evenings in a pizza restaurant under an assumed named according to Italian media, came a week after Italian police said it had dismantled a ‘Ndrangheta mafia ring dominating a large area of southern Calabria and seized assets exceeding 250 million euros.

Fifty-six people, many already in prison, were put under criminal investigation for a series of crimes including mafia-related conspiracy, extortion, kidnapping, bribery and possession of weapons, police and prosecutors said.

The arrest of Greco comes just over two weeks after Italian police arrested one of the most notorious bosses of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra mafia, Matteo Messina Denaro, who had been on the run for 30 years.

The 60-year-old was arrested after visiting a health clinic where he was being treated in the Sicilian capital Palermo

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CRIME

Teen held in France over ‘die a martyr’ Olympics messages

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in France after he allegedly said on social media he wanted to make an explosive belt and die a martyr at the Paris Olympics this summer, officials said.

Teen held in France over 'die a martyr' Olympics messages

The teenager from the department of Haute-Savoie in southeastern France was arrested on Tuesday, said the anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office, adding a probe had been launched on Wednesday.

The teenager was arrested “following his statements on social media announcing his intention to make an explosive belt with a view to dying a martyr,” the anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office said.

During a search of his parents’ home, handwritten papers were discovered in which the teen had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, a police source said.

According to the same source, the teenager admitted to having planned to commit a “terrorist act” using a gun or explosive belt at La Défense, the business district west of the capital that is also home to an arena hosting swimming and water polo competitions during the Games.

The anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office said work was under way to determine the teen’s exact intentions.

The DGSI, France’s domestic intelligence agency, is conducting an investigation.

France is hosting the Olympic Games in Paris from July 26th to August 11th, with security during the event a major concern.

In March the government raised its terror alert to the highest level.

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