‘Master of Escapes’ arrested in Spain after fourth prison break

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.

How he escaped

Spanish authorities said the man escaped from the Italian prison in December by sawing through window bars and lowering himself with knotted bedsheets. Police described his repeated prison breaks as cinematic:

“It sounds like something out of a movie, but sometimes reality is stranger than fiction,” police said in the statement.

Previous breaks

Police said the fugitive had earlier escaped from prisons in Terni and Parma in Italy and from a prison in Belgium, where he used a human pyramid to scale the walls.

Arrest and charges

The man was arrested in the northeastern Spanish city of Tarragona after police tracked him to a neighbourhood where he was believed to be living. Authorities said he resisted arrest and that several people accompanying him tried to intervene, with one person allegedly injuring two officers.

Police said the fugitive was carrying false identification documents and two 500-euro notes suspected of being counterfeit. Spanish authorities did not identify the man or say why he had been imprisoned, describing him only as “dangerous“.

Legal status

A judge ordered the man held in provisional custody without bail, pending extradition proceedings to Italy.