The leader of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra mafia, Matteo Messina Denaro, was helped by an encrypted note hidden in the leg of a table in his sister's house.

This was reported by "BBC News Ukraine" with reference to the 57-page warrant published by the Italian police.

This warrant refers to the arrest of the mobster's sister, 67-year-old Rosalia Messina Denaro.

Law enforcement officers found the note during an operation in Rosalia's house in the Sicilian commune of Castelvetrano.

An undercover operative came to the woman's home to install a listening device.

It was then that he 

The law enforcement officer recorded the find in the photo.

It turned out to be a so-called "pizzino" - a message written with the help of a cipher, which is used in the mafia for communication at high levels.

It was with the help of such notes that Denaro communicated with his family and friends.

Photo: CARABINIERI

When the note was deciphered, it turned out that it

On January 16, the mafiosi was detained in a private clinic in Palermo.

The participants of the operation were the police and about a hundred soldiers.

The police said that Rosetta not only managed her brother's letters, but also acted as the group's treasurer.

In "pizzino" it was called "Fragoline" or "big strawberry". 

.

The mobster's sister was also detained in Sicily.

The warrant for Rosetta's arrest states that "the historic detention (of her brother - ed.) was made possible thanks to a note that the woman carelessly kept, even though she hid it."

Denaro's sister is accused of

participating in an organized criminal group, helping her brother avoid criminal punishment and serving as the organization's leader.

Photo: Getty Images

It will be recalled that the detention of Matteo Denaro became known in mid-January 2022.

He was wanted for 30 years.

In 2002, Denaro was arrested in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment

, in particular, for the murder of prosecutors, for the kidnapping, torture and murder of an 11-year-old boy, whose father was also a member of the mafia, but who appeared as a witness for the state prosecution.

According to the investigation, Denaro led racketeers, oversaw illegal disposal of waste, money laundering and drug trafficking for the powerful organized crime syndicate "Cosa Nostra" (translated from Italian - "our business").

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