Italian police on Thursday
seized assets worth several thousands of euros belonging to the
jailed sister of Cosa Nostra No.1 Matteo Messina Denaro.
Several firms including an olive-oil company belonging to
Messina Denaro's sister Anna Patrizia and her husband were
impounded and a number of bank accounts frozen.
The boss's sister was among 30 people arrested in December
but police think she still has contact with her brother and
relays his orders.
After the December sweep police said they have "never been
so close" to capturing the elusive boss.
Italy's anti-mafia authorities in March updated the
identikit of Messina Denaro after receiving new information
about his appearance from an informant.
It marked the first time since 2011 that investigators were
able to update the computer-simulated portrait of the appearance
of the crime boss, who is one of the world's 10 most-wanted men
according to Interpol.
The 52-year-old crime boss has gained weight and his
receding hairline has advanced, although his hair remains dark,
an informant reported after a personal meeting with the mafia
boss.
Investigators discovered, thanks to the latest witness as
well as other informants, that Messina Denaro no longer wears
glasses.
Old photos of the crime boss show him with thick spectacles
due to a serious retina illness for which he sought treatment in
Spain.
A specialist who treated him in Barcellona confirmed the
gravity of the condition and hypothesized that Messina Denaro
has gone blind in one eye.
Investigators have been closing the net around Messina with
a wave of arrests and massive asset seizures since an updated
identikit in 2011 gave new impetus to the search.
The December operation came after police last April
confiscated assets worth over 1.3 billion euros belonging to
Vito Nicastri, a Sicilian wind-farm and solar-power magnate
linked to Messina Denaro, in the biggest-ever assets seizure in
the country's history.
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