Liverpool man mistakenly arrested as mafia boss in “terrifying” ordeal

A man from Liverpool was arrested in a restaurant in The Hague after being mistakenly identified as a Sicilian mafia boss.

The 54-year-old, known only as Mark L, was having a meal in the Het Pleidooi [The Plea] restaurant when he was reportedly blindfolded and surrounded by armed police last Wednesday.

The man was mistaken for Matteo Messina Denaro, who is believed to have connections with the murders of 50 people, including a series of car bomb attacks which killed 10 people including two prosecutors.

Denaro, who has the nickname Diabolik, has been on the run since 1993, and has been considered as “the boss of bosses” in the Sicilian mob world.

The 59-year-old featured in a Netflix documentary last year called the World’s Most Wanted.

Manager of Het Pleidooi, Anne-Marie Lancee, told LiverpoolWorld: “We were completely shocked.

“It was absolutely terrifying. We are still speaking to the police about it.”

The man had been in the Netherlands to watch the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, his lawyer has said.

According to reports, Dutch prosecutors carried out the arrest at the request of the Italian authorities. After his capture at the restaurant, the police took the man to Vught maximum security prison.

He remained in prison until last Saturday, while his identity was checked by Italian authorities. Dutch prosecutors said in a statement that ‘‘the man arrested, earlier this week, in a Hague restaurant, is not the man sought by Italian authorities.’’

The man’s lawyer, Leon van Kleef, told the Guardian: “When they told me he had been arrested because he was believed to be Matteo Messina Denaro, I thought they were joking.

“I mean, my client was born and raised in England and has an incredibly strong Liverpool accent. It was obvious from the start that there was a misunderstanding.”

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