Spanish police have arrested Taulant Toma, a 42-year-old Albanian national known for a string of prison escapes across Europe. National Police officers tracked him down in Tarragona’s Campclar district after several days of surveillance. The arrest took place on Friday, ending a months-long search for a man who escaped from four prisons, three in Italy and one in Belgium. His exploits earned him the nickname ‘Maestro de las fugas’.
Information from police sources, Toma was found in a vehicle with several other people. When officers moved in, he resisted arrest. One of his companions tried to get rid of a Sig Sauer pistol by throwing it into nearby bushes, but the Mossos d'Esquadra later recovered the weapon. The arrest drew a crowd in the neighborhood. Police restrained Toma and quickly removed him from the scene. Investigators believe he had been living in Spain since January and using high-quality forged documents. He had previously been detained in Girona for possession of weapons and explosives, but authorities confirmed his identity through his distinctive tattoos and a deep scar on his right cheek.
Toma’s criminal history includes several high-profile escapes. His first breakout came in 2009, from a prison in Terni, Italy, where he was serving a sentence for violent robbery. When other inmates were distracted, he slipped through a hole in a fence and used bedsheets to scale the prison wall. He was recaptured two months later. In 2013, he escaped from a facility in Parma, Italy, with help from a cellmate. The pair sawed through the cell bars, then used bedsheets to descend and a makeshift pole to clear the perimeter wall. After several months on the run, Toma was arrested in Belgium, but escaped from Lantin prison later that year. Accomplices took a guard hostage and created a diversion. Toma climbed over the wall using a human pyramid, then fled in a waiting car.
His most recent escape took place in December 2025, from the high-security Opera prison in Milan. Italian media report that Toma used a file to cut through bars, then descended on bedsheets and scaled the wall with a homemade pole fitted with a metal hook. After his arrest in Tarragona, he was taken to Mas d’Enric prison. Spain’s Audiencia Nacional is processing his extradition to Italy, where he faces a lengthy sentence for his accumulated crimes and escapes. Authorities are still searching for another Albanian national who assaulted officers during the arrest.
The case highlights the challenges European law enforcement faces in tracking and apprehending high-profile fugitives across borders. Similar cross-border police actions have drawn attention in Spain, including the recent investigation into police conduct during unrest at Elche-Barça. Toma’s arrest highlights the value of international cooperation and the risks posed by organized criminal networks with the resources to evade capture.
Spain has long been a destination for fugitives, owing to its geographic position and established migrant communities. The country’s law enforcement agencies increasingly coordinate with European counterparts to tackle transnational crime. Toma’s extradition process is expected to move swiftly, given the seriousness of his offenses and the international warrants issued for his arrest. His case also shows how escapees’ tactics are developing, requiring security forces to adapt.
