Matteo Messina Denaro: COVID-19 a Key Player in His Arrest

 When Matteo Messina Denaro was apprehended, he had Covid-19. This was revealed by the Commander of the Carabinieri's Special Operations Group (ROS), Pasquale Angelosanto, during a meeting at the San Camillo Hospital in Rome where the contribution of the national healthcare system to the boss's capture was discussed. "The boss tested negative for Covid in the hospital swab, but positive in the one conducted before entering prison," said Angelosanto, who then detailed the steps - many of which were already known - that led to the arrest.

Critical were the notes on the presumed Mister X's health conditions found at Rosalia's sister's house during an operation to place listening devices. These notes were inside the hollow leg of a chair. "A clinical diary with admission dates and operations," Angelosanto explained, "weight loss, cycles of chemotherapy."

At this point, investigators hypothesized that it could be information about Matteo Messina Denaro and therefore turned to the Ministry of Health. By cross-referencing clinical information, they found that only one patient code had all the required characteristics. "His name was Andrea Bonafede and he was about the same age as Messina Denaro," said the ROS Commander. "However, when Andrea Bonafede was undergoing surgery under the national health service, for us, based also on CCTV footage, he was driving around or on his cellphone." Then the agents discovered the appointment at the La Maddalena clinic for January 16. And that's when they intervened.