¡¡¡¡ROME, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Italy's Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano, who had been a fugitive for over 43 years, was arrested by police in Sicily on Tuesday, police said.

Italy's Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano (Xinhua/AFP)

    Provenzano, whose identity was confirmed by DNA testing, had been transferred to a secret location, police said.

    Born in 1933, Provenzano is believed to be the "boss of bosses" of the Sicilian Mafia after former boss Salvatore (Toto) Riina was arrested in Palermo in January 1993.

    According to the police, Provenzano was captured in the countryside outside Corleone, south of Palermo. The 72-year-old man made no statement at the time of his arrest.

    Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi immediately sent a message to Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu congratulating him on Provenzano's arrest.

    Local media said until recently Provenzano's whereabouts and even his physical appearance had been shrouded in mystery.

    The breakthrough came when investigators learned that Provenzano had traveled to a Marseille clinic for prostate surgery under an assumed name.

    Information offered by doctors and nurses at the clinic allowed computer experts to construct a more accurate identikit image of the fugitive.

    The most recent picture the police had of Provenzano was taken in 1959, when he was 25. His arrest is seen as a major victory in the country's long fight against the Mafia. Enditem