Spanish police arrest fugitive 'Master of Escapes' after fourth prison break from Italy
Spanish police have arrested a fugitive dubbed the "Master of Escapes" after he broke out of prison four times, most recently from a maximum-security facility in Italy. The man, wanted by Italy under a European arrest warrant, escaped from the Italian jail in December by sawing through window bars and lowering himself with knotted bedsheets. He had previously escaped from prisons in Terni and Parma in Italy and from a Belgian prison where he used a human pyramid to scale the walls.
Spanish authorities arrested him in the northeastern city of Tarragona after tracking him to a neighborhood where he was believed to be living. He resisted arrest, with accomplices allegedly injuring two officers. Police said he was carrying false identification documents and two 500-euro notes suspected of being counterfeit.
A judge ordered him held in provisional custody without bail pending extradition proceedings to Italy. Spanish police did not identify the man or specify why he had been imprisoned, describing him only as "dangerous" in their statement.
The arrest demonstrates international law enforcement cooperation in tracking fugitives across European borders, though the case has limited direct relevance to daily security concerns in Nigeria.