Formula 1

F1 fan arrested at gunpoint by Dutch police after being mistaken for mafia boss

Ewan Gale Tuesday 14 September 2021 16:15

F1 fan arrested at gunpoint by Dutch police after being mistaken for mafia boss

A British F1 fan was arrested at gunpoint in the Netherlands last week after being mistaken by police for a Sicilian mafia boss.

The 54-year-old man from Liverpool, who has been named only as 'Mark L' was captured in the Dutch capital The Hague last week after attending the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort the preceding weekend.

Police believed they had caught 59-year-old mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, who has a European Arrest Warrant issued by Italian authorities over bombings in 1993 which killed 10 and injured almost 100.

F1 fan Mark L was at a restaurant with his son when police led him away blindfolded, according to Dutch broadcaster NOS.

Lawyer Leon van Kleed said: "It's like a bad movie, a nightmare that my client has found himself in.

"Imagine one moment you are having a bite to eat and the next you are sat in a maximum-security Dutch prison."

It was later established Mark L is not the mafia don and he has now been released.

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F1 fan arrested at gunpoint by Dutch police after being mistaken for mafia boss

F1 fan arrested at gunpoint by Dutch police after being mistaken for mafia boss