Romania arrests Mafia fugitive

ROMANIAN police today arrested a fugitive Italian Mafia boss who has been sentenced to 50 years in jail and is suspected of running one of Europe's biggest drug rings, a spokesman said.

Francesco Perspicace, 45, was arrested in Craiova, in southern Romania, and will be extradited to Italy "on a date to be agreed with the Italian authorities", a police spokesman in the town said.

He said Perspicace has been wanted for years and was believed to head an operation that smuggled drugs into Europe through Barcelona, Nice and Milan.

"Five years ago Perspicace was the boss of one of the biggest Mafia groups in Italy, where he has been sentenced to 50 years in prison," Interpol's spokesman in Bucharest, Paolo Sartori, told journalists.

According to the local police, Perspicace entered Romania with forged documents about two months ago.