Italian authorities have launched a manhunt after a mobster used bed sheets to break down walls and escape from a maximum security prison.
CCTV of the dramatic escape appears to show Marco Radauno – a leading figure in the Puglia-based Sacra Corona Unita mafia – scaling the outer wall of Badu’e Carros prison in Nuoro, Sardinia, using a rope made of knotted sheets.
The 39-year-old then jumps the last several meters to land on the grass below, before jumping up and running down the road.
Radauno’s arrest came in 2018 amid a large-scale drug and gun-trafficking sting, and he was recently sentenced to a final 19-year prison sentence.
When news of his escape broke, fireworks were reportedly set off in Radauno’s hometown of Vieste, which the town’s mayor was quick to attribute to a particularly loud birthday party.
Guards noticed Radauno missing only two hours after he scaled the wall when he did not return to his cell at the end of a recreational period that often saw him in the prison library.
Police have launched a wide-ranging investigation in Sardinia, including roadblocks and extra checks at transport hubs, which have caused flight delays.
Prison authorities told local press that the inmate had allegedly stolen a set of keys which he used to unlock a door leading to the outer wall. He is then believed to have tied the sheets to a window before making his descent.
Union officials reportedly added due to staffing shortages, there was only one guard stationed in the room where Radauno stole the keys, meaning the inmate simply had to wait until his shift changed before making his move.
The lack of staff is also believed to be the reason no one was watching the surveillance video, and therefore why it took two hours for them to notice that Raduano had escaped.
Sardinian national security union spokesman Giovanni Villa told Italian media: “The prisoner from Puglia made a daring escape from one of the most secure penitentiaries in Italy.
“It appears that he had everything ready and that the escape had been planned for some time.
“For months now we have been complaining about the lack of staff and this is the main factor that compromised security.”
Badu’e Carros prison houses more than 30 of Italy’s most dangerous mafia figures, including members of some of the world’s most powerful criminal organizations.
This includes the Calabria-based Ndrangheta clan, Sicily’s notorious Cosa Nostra and the Campanian Camorra syndicate, which formed the basis of the hit TV series Gomorrah.
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