Fugitive mafia boss wanted for murder arrested at Amalfi coast luxury villa | Italy

An Italian mafia boss, one of Italy’s most dangerous fugitives, has been arrested on murder charges after being on the run for more than a year, Italian police said on Saturday.

Roberto Mazzarella was the head of the infamous Mazzarella clan of the Camorra, an organized crime gang based in Naples.

Mazzarella was arrested on Friday night with his wife and two children at a luxury villa worth 1,000 euros a night on the Amalfi Coast.

In the statement made by the police, it was stated that the person “did not resist arrest” during the raid in the town of Vietri sul Mare in Salerno.

Mazzarella ranked fourth on the interior ministry’s list of the most dangerous fugitives.

The 48-year-old man had been on the run since January 28, 2025, when he was due to be arrested on murder charges in the 2000 death of Antonio Maione in San Giovanni a Teduccio. Maione’s brother, Ivan, confessed to killing Mazzarella’s father, Salvatore, in 1995.

In the video released by the police regarding the raid, heavily armed police officers were seen in the seaside villa. The operation involved the Carabinieri investigative unit (Italy’s national military police), the Italian air force, and the Salerno coastguard patrol boat monitoring the surrounding waters.

Police said they found €20,000 in cash and three luxury watches, as well as mobile phones and fake identity documents during the raid.

The Mazzarella family controls most of the smuggling and drug trafficking in Naples, and is also involved in counterfeiting and laundering of proceeds through Milan and Northern Italy.

The arrest was welcomed by MPs.

Naples Governor Michele di Bari described the operation as “an investigative success” in a statement.

He added: “It is the result of tireless field work and the outstanding professionalism of the Judiciary and the Carabinieri, which strongly confirms the presence of the State in the region.

“This outcome brings to justice a person who poses a high risk of crime and provides citizens with a deep sense of security and legality.”

Chiara Colosimo, head of the antimafia commission, wrote about