British father, 54, is arrested at gunpoint after bungling Dutch police thought he was a Mafia boss
British father, 54, from Liverpool is arrested at gunpoint as bungling Dutch police burst into restaurant and blindfold him after thinking he was an Italian Mafia boss
Mark L, 54, was ambushed by police at a restaurant in Holland last Wednesday They then blindfolded him before they whisked him to maximum-security prison The father was eventually released on Saturday and police admitted fault ***Are you Mark L or do you know him? Email tips@dailymail.com***
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A British father from Liverpool has been arrested at gunpoint by police in Holland who believed he was a Mafia boss.
Identified only as Mark L, the 54-year-old father was in the country to watch the Dutch Grand Prix when police ambushed him at a restaurant last Wednesday.
They then proceeded to blindfold him before they whisked him to a maximum-security prison.
Officers were convinced the Liverpudlian was Sicilian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, 59, who is wanted for bombings in 1993 which killed 10 people and injured 93.
Officers were convinced Liverpudlian Mark L was Sicilian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, 59, who is wanted for bombings in 1993 which killed 10 people and injured 93
Identified only as Mark L, the 54-year-old father was in the country to watch the Dutch Grand Prix when police ambushed him at a restaurant last Wednesday. Pictured: Matteo Messina Denaro
Mark L was eventually released on Saturday and police admitted they made a mistake in arresting him.
His lawyer, Van Kleef, told local news according to The Mirror: ‘I would fall off my chair if this was Italy’s most wanted mobster.
‘The moment he opened his mouth I could hear his English accent. Imagine one moment you are having a bite to eat and the next you are sat in a maximum-security Dutch prison.’
Denaro was sentenced in absentia to life in prison in May 2002 for his role in the bombings of 1993 which killed eight people including two prosecutors and injured 93.
