'Escape master' who broke out of multiple prisons across Europe arrested in Spain
Officers tracked the fugitive down to a neighbourhood in Tarragona where they believed he was living. A judge ordered the man to be remanded in custody without bail while his extradition to Italy is processed.
Published on 26/08/2026 - 17:10 GMT+2
Spain's National Police have arrested a fugitive known as the "escape master" in Tarragona.
The man was the subject of a European arrest warrant issued by Italian authorities. His record includes escapes from prisons in Terni and Parma in Italy, as well as from a prison in Belgium.
In his latest breakout in December, he managed to escape a high-security Italian prison after sawing through the bars of a window and climbing down the building using knotted bedsheets, according to police.
In Belgium, he is also said to have climbed over a prison's walls after forming a human pyramid with other inmates.
The arrest
Officers tracked the fugitive down to a neighbourhood in Tarragona where they believed he was living.
When they moved in to apprehend him, he resisted, while several of the people with him tried to stop the officers from making the arrest.
During the incident, one of the individuals is said to have injured two officers.
At the time of his capture, the fugitive was carrying false identity documents and two 500-euro notes that may be counterfeit.
The National Police regard him as "dangerous," but they have not disclosed his identity or the offences for which he was serving a sentence.
Following his arrest, a judge ordered that he be remanded in custody without bail while his extradition to Italy is processed.
