British tourist mistaken for elusive mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro
An unsuspecting British tourist who was mistaken for highly elusive Cosa Nostra boss, Matteo Messina Denaro, 59, was arrested at a restaurant in the Hague last Wednesday. He was said to be having lunch with his son and a friend when numerous police special force vehicles suddenly swarmed the location.
“Suddenly there were seven cars in front of the business. Officers with guns drawn…,” said the owner of the restaurant, according to the Times.
He was then taken to a maximum-security prison facility and held for four days.
The tourist has only been referred to by his lawyer as “Mark”.
“Mark” is believed to be a 54-year-old man from Liverpool living in Spain, who was visiting the Netherlands for the grand prix in Zandvoort. It was then confirmed that he had no ties with Cosa Nostra or any of the clans.
Matteo Messina Denaro is one of the most wanted criminals on Earth, and has been eluding world governments and police forces since he went on the lamb in 1993.
Matteo Messina Denaro (Far Right) – Bustle
Denaro was sentenced to life in prison twenty years ago after a bombing that killed ten people. Since then, he has been sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia during numerous trials.
Officials have been using a computer-generated image of Denaro to estimate what he might look like presently. It has been assumed that Denaro has undergone significant cosmetic alterations since he went on the run.
The generated image had been circulated and publicized by Italian, Dutch, and other countries’ media.
