IT was such an unlikely hiding place Vittorio Pisano, chief of the Naples Flying Squad, had to look it up on a map. "Mostly criminals prefer the south of France or Spain - I have never heard of a mafia man being held in Preston before.
"I had to look it up in an atlas as I had never heard of the place," he said.
Gennaro Panzuto, head of one of the most feared crime families in Naples, had fled a bloody mob war which ripped through the city. And the Six Arches caravan park, on the banks of the River Wyre at the edge of the Forest of Bowland, was the perfect place to lie low until his bloody past caught up with him.
Panzuto was born in the poor, workingclass district of La Torretta in 1974. Looking for a way out of poverty, he made a name for himself as a teenage thief and pickpocket.
Soon he came to the attention of the Camorra - Naples' mafia clans. He was ordered to kill a rival mobster, but the target was arrested before the Panzuto could get to him.
It proved to be a short stay of execution. A second hit was ordered and Panzuto ambushed and shot dead another camorrista.
From there his rapid rise through the ranks of the Neapolitan mafia began. In the winter of 2005-06, an inter-clan war erupted and Panzuto's allies asked for his help.
A spate of shootings and murders ensued. Eventually one of the killings of a gangster named Graziano Borelli could be linked directly to Panzuto.
Denne historien er fra October 08, 2023-utgaven av MEN on Sunday.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 08, 2023-utgaven av MEN on Sunday.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Pep admits: We could not handle Cherries
PEP Guardiola said that City were not 'clean' enough to cope with Bournemouth as they suffered their first Premier League defeat for 11 months.
United chiefs told me it was now or never
New Reds coach says he asked to stay at Sporting Lisbon until the end of the season, but he was given Old Trafford ultimatum
Curzon boss Craig wants more magic moments in cup
EVEN guiding his team to a shock victory over Mansfield would be unlikely to usurp Craig Mahon's favourite FA Cup memory.
Any encounter with wild nature is memorable in some way
COMEDIAN AND FORMER STRICTLY WINNER BILL BAILEY TALKS TO PRUDENCE WADE ABOUT THE ANIMALS THAT HAVE SHAPED HIS LIFE
Drink-drive firefighter 'haunted by tragedies
Single mum who was almost three times limit is handed fine
Doubt over promised cash for North transport plans
TWO major transport projects in the North of England have been thrown into doubt after Rachel Reeves failed to commit to funding pledges made by the previous Conservative government.
Law change could end out-of-area taxis issue
TAXIS licensed by Wolverhampton council could be BANNED from working in Greater Manchester with a proposed law change.
How a quiet night in lab changed science
Miracle material created in city is 200 times stronger than steel
'As long as Barry can see pals at the pub, he'll be OK ra
Dad's devastating MND diagnosis
The chilly reception to exit of Iceland
How the closure of suburb's last cheap shop' symbolises a change that some residents would prefer hadn't happened