Social Media Leads to the Arrest of Fugitive Living as a Pizzaiolo in Spain

The desire to share everything on social media costs handcuffs to Vincenzo Matacena, a 39-year-old from the Traiano district in Naples, wanted since October 2021 and on the run, arrested by the Carabinieri of the Operational Unit of Bagnoli. He had started a new life as a pizzaiolo in Spain. In the city of Valencia, for years away from the spotlight. Matacena had been sought for years. According to the Court of Appeal of Naples, he will have to serve a sentence of 6 years and 8 months in prison for association aimed at drug trafficking and possession of drugs for the purpose of dealing. The search initially focused on his residential neighborhood, the Traiano district. However, no useful traces were ever recovered. The results began to arrive from the analysis of the social profiles of the relatives: web patrolling. It started from an Instagram story where a relative hinted that she would soon embrace Matacena's son again. She would do it in Spain. But where exactly? Other clues came from videos posted by people very close to the 39-year-old. Thanks to an "unboxing" video during which the benefits of some beauty products purchased online were listed, the Carabinieri were able to glimpse the address reported on the package. They then noticed that most of the images were shot outside of a camper. The circle tightened further by digging into the relational network. They found some videos of Matacena himself, in the company of his wife and son or other relatives. And still images of the fugitive while he was working in a pizzeria in Valencia. Or some of the son's shirt that betrayed the name of the school where he was enrolled. Communication to the Spanish National Police was immediately initiated, and thanks to the coordination of the Naples Prosecutor's Office and the support of the international police cooperation service and a security expert D.C.S.A, Matacena was captured. He is now in a Spanish prison, awaiting extradition.