Palermo (Italy), July 2 (IANS/AKI) Italian police claimed to have reconstructed the genetic profile of a mafia leader, using tests on DNA samples from the fugitive’s relatives, media reports said.
DNA tests were carried out over several months on hair from combs and saliva from toothbrushes belonging to the Sicilian mafia’s alleged current head, Matteo Messina Denaro’s brothers, according to investigators in Rome and Palermo, the reports said Thursday.
The 47-year-old playboy has been on the run since 1993.
Reconstructing Denaro’s DNA is considered a major breakthrough because he has never been arrested and copies of his fingerprints taken when he was drafted for military service have long since been destroyed.
Police have found evidence that Denaro has travelled to Austria, Greece, Spain and Tunisia and believe he is expanding his criminal power base abroad.
–IANS/AKI
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