ROME — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni congratulated the police late Saturday for the arrest of an alleged crime boss and one of Italy's most wanted fugitives.

Authorities announced the arrest of Roberto Mazzarella, 48, following a raid Friday on a villa on the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy. Mazzarella had allegedly used false documents to rent the coastal property where police located and apprehended him.

Meloni, who was on a tour of Gulf states at the time, issued her statement one day after the raid.

"This sends a clear message that the state will not back down," Meloni said of the arrest.

Mazzarella is wanted in connection with a 2000 fatal shooting at a delicatessen in central Naples. He had been among the country's most wanted fugitives prior to Friday's raid on the Amalfi Coast villa.