Extradition proceedings of Italian Mafia boss Sebastiano Brunno continued this afternoon with the official presentation of the documents regarding the request for his return to Italy.

Before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja, deputy Attorney General Donatella Frendo Dimech officially exhibited the document, along with the required authorisation from the Justice Minister.

The 56-year-old Italian Mafia boss had been arrested in broad daylight on the streets of Buġibba on October 2, five years after the Sicilian police mounted an extensive manhunt for him.

He is known as the head of the Nardo Cosca, a branch of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra.

The arrest followed an international investigation coordinated by the Catania anti-Mafia unit with the Maltese CID and Drug Squad.

Authorities swooped after three months of intense monitoring.

Mr Brunno is wanted in connection with several brutal murders and was one of the Mafia leaders involved a bloody feud in the 1990s. He has been a fugitive since 2009 and an Italian court has already condemned him to life imprisonment.

Gerald Farrugia, from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, testified to confirm that the documentation was received from the Italian Embassy and immediately passed on to the Attorney General's office.

Magistrate Bugeja postponed the case to next week, giving the defence lawyers enough time to analyse the documents presented in court.

Lawyers Roberto Montalto and Michaela Spiteri appeared for the accused.