Fugitive Caught at Olympics After 16 Years on the Run: "I Just Wanted to Watch Ice Hockey"

Wanted over 2010 theft...16 years on the run
Caught by automatic alert system after entering Milan

A wanted Slovak national who had been on the run for 16 years was arrested on the spot after slipping into Italy to watch an ice hockey game at the Winter Olympics.

Quoting an Associated Press report on the 13th (Korea time), Yonhap News reported that a 44-year-old man who had been wanted by the Italian authorities over a 2010 theft case was captured. At the time, an Italian court had sentenced him to 11 months and 7 days in prison, but he fled without serving his sentence.

On the 11th, while he was registering to stay at a campsite on the outskirts of Milan, the "automatic criminal alert system" was triggered, revealing his location. The Italian national gendarmerie, the Carabinieri, were dispatched and apprehended him after tracking him down. The arrested man was transferred to San Vittore Prison, where he is expected to serve the remainder of his sentence.

At the 2026 Milano-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, the Slovak and Finnish national ice hockey teams are playing a match. Yonhap News

The man is believed to have entered Milan on the 12th to watch an ice hockey game at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. The game, held at the Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena, was a matchup between Slovakia and Finland. However, due to his arrest, he was unable to witness Slovakia’s 4-1 victory in person.

There have been previous cases in which wanted suspects were arrested after coming to watch sports events or performances. A representative example is "Operation Flagship" in the United States in the 1980s. In 1985, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Washington, D.C. police sent free National Football League (NFL) game invitations to wanted suspects and arrested 101 fugitives who gathered to claim them.

In China, there have also been cases in which facial recognition systems installed at concert venues automatically identified wanted individuals in the midst of large audiences who had come to see performances. Police arrested them on site.

In 2018, at a concert by famous singer Jacky Cheung in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, a male fugitive who had committed a fraud totaling 110,000 yuan (about 19 million won) in 2015 and then fled was arrested. Chinese media even gave Jacky Cheung a new nickname, calling him the "Nemesis of Fugitives" (daofan kexing).