Sicilian mafioso was arrested on his way to restaurant for lunch

Sicilian mafioso Sebastiano Brunno, 56 years, was on his way out for lunch when Maltese police, together with police officers from Catania and Siracusa and Rome’s Servizio Centrale Operativo arrested the boss of the Nardo clan, on the run since 2009.

A mobile phone with a Maltese number, a laptop and €1,500 in cash were seized from the apartment.

Full details of his arrest in Bugibba were provided by the Questura di Catania, the Italian police, after releasing a video of Brunno’s arrest.

Police video of arrest of Mafioso Sebastiano Brunno

The Maltese police gave very scant details of the arrest, explaining the basics and insisting that investigations were still ongoing. During the crime conference, the police never mentioned Brunno by name and repeatedly referred to him “as the person in question”.

Coordinated by the Italian police, it now transpires that Brunno was “on his way to one of the nice restaurants in the area” with a member of the clan when he was stopped by the police.

After providing a fake Italian identity card, carrying his photo but under a different name and age, Brunno, realising he will not be escaping this time, turned to the officers and said: “Well done, you have arrested an important gangster”.

Brunno, on the run for the past five years, is believed to have entered Malta at the end of last year after police lost trace of him in Catania.

His stay in Malta was fully financed by his clan: restaurants, apartment and a trip to the Casino every now and then. All this was financed through extortions collected by the Nardo clan.

Investigators had realised Brunno could have found refuge in Malta after one of his close followers left Catania to Malta. The police reportedly fully relied on their investigative abilities, as all sources remained tight-lipped on Brunno’s whereabouts. They continued shadowing the man who after landing in Malta caught a taxi and headed towards Brunno’s apartment.

At around 1pm, the two left the three-storey building when the police stopped them.

Brunno’s friend – a sort of tax collector – turned out to be the link to locate the leader of the Nardo clan. All communication with Brunno and all transfer of money was carried out physically: a messenger was sent periodically to Malta – according to the Italian police at least twice a month.

Brunno already faces life imprisonment for the murder of Nicholas Lamb in 1992, during a bloody mafia war between the Nardo and the Di Salvo.