A mafia boss considered one of Italy's 30 most dangerous fugitives has been arrested in Naples, police said.

Edoardo Contini, 52, had been on the run for seven years. He was arrested late on Friday in a villa on the outskirts of the southern Italian city, home to the Camorra crime syndicate which thrives on drug trafficking and extortion.

Franco Roberti, the top anti-mafia prosecutor in Naples, described Contini as "the Camorra's top criminal mind". "Edoardo Contini was perhaps the most dangerous boss in Naples," Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said in a statement, adding that police had been on his trail for more than a year.

The arrest followed a series of high-profile sweeps against the Sicilian Mafia, including last month's arrest of "boss of bosses" Salvatore Lo Piccolo after nearly a quarter of a century on the run..

In 2005, Contini was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in jail for mob association and extortion. He has also been accused of murder, drug trafficking and money laundering.

"Over the years, he built an economic empire that he continued to run even as a fugitive," police said.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.