Google Maps Helps Capture Fugitive Who Was On The Run For 20 Years

KEY POINTS

Gioacchino Gammino escaped from an Italian prison in 2002
The now 61-year-old had built a new life in Spain, and was even married
Gammino, convicted of murder in 2003, was part of a Sicilian mafia called Stidda

A wanted fugitive convicted of murder was on the run for the last two decades, until he was finally captured and arrested by the Italian police. Gioacchino Gammino escaped a prison in Rome in 2002 and had disappeared without a trace, until Google Maps led investigators to Spain, right to his doorstep.

Gammino, a member of a Sicilian mafia known as Stidda, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003 for a murder he had committed several years earlier, according to Reuters.

The now 61-year-old fugitive eventually ended up in Spain where he set up a new life under a fake name. Once he got to Galapagar, a town near Madrid, Gammino changed his name to Manuel, worked as a chef and owned a fruit and vegetable shop. He even got married, adds The Guardian.

In a bid to find the criminal, the Sicilian police carried out several investigations, and a European arrest warrant was issued in 2014. Though he was traced to Spain, it was Google maps that helped pinpoint his exact location.

Google says its upgrade of its Maps app will help people find eco-friendly travel options AFP / Olivier DOULIERY

The navigation tool on the app captured an image of two men outside a fruit and vegetable shop called El Huerto de Manu, or Manu’s Garden, in Galapagar. "The photogram helped us to confirm the investigation we were developing in traditional ways," Nicola Altiero, deputy director of the Italian anti-mafia police unit (DIA), said.

Police believed one of the men closely resembled Gammino, but his identity was only confirmed when they came across a listing for a nearby restaurant called La Cocina de Manu or Manu’s Kitchen.

Though the shop and the restaurant are now closed, cops came across a picture of Gammino in chef's attire on a still-existing Facebook page for La Cocina de Manu. What gave him away was the distinctive scar on his chin.

Gammino was arrested on Dec. 17, 2021, but it only went public after it was reported by local media on Wednesday. “I haven’t even phoned my family for the last 10 years,” a baffled Gammino told the cops, as per New York Post.

Palermo prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi, who led the latest investigation, confirmed the arrest. “It’s not as if we spend our days wading through Google Maps to find fugitives,” he said. “There were many previous and long investigations, which led us to Spain. We were on a good path, with Google Maps helping to confirm our investigations.”