Tattooed mafioso nabbed with help of cooking videos

Italian police have announced the arrest of a wanted 'Ndrangheta mobster in the Dominican Republic after he posted multiple cooking videos on YouTube. 

Marc Feren Claude Biart, 53, was detained in the town of Boca Chica last week. He had arrived in the Caribbean town over five years ago from Costa Rica, according to the police.

He is accused of involvement in drug trafficking for Italy's 'Ndrangheta organization, which is considered to be the most powerful mafia group in the country.

While the fugitive had remained careful about his movements, his downfall came in the form of a YouTube channel that he set up with his wife to post Italian cooking videos. His face was not visible in the videos, but police were able to identify his tattoos.

"The love of Italian cuisine made it possible to follow the traces left behind on the internet and social media," the police said in a statement. The suspect arrived in Milan on Monday.

Another fugitive nabbed at COVID clinic

In a separate incident on Monday, another 'Ndrangheta mobster was arrested at a clinic in Lisbon, Portugal, where he was being treated for the coronavirus, local media reports say.

Francesco Pelle was one of Italy's most dangerous fugitives, according to Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese.

He was a key figure in a feud between 'Ndrangheta clans that escalated in 2007 with the Duisburg killings in western Germany, which left six people dead.

Those killings were a reprisal for an order Pelle gave to murder a mobster's wife to avenge a shooting in which he lost the use of his legs.

He had been sentenced to life in prison for the murder, but went into hiding in 2019 when Italy's top appeals court confirmed the jail term.

see/nm (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)