Albanian Crime Figure Toma Taulant Escapes Milan Jail For Fourth Time

Toma Taulant, a 40-year-old Albanian convicted of drug trafficking, arms offences and violent robberies, escaped Opera high-security prison in Milan in the early hours of Sunday. Authorities say he sawed through the bars of his cell window with a metal file—allegedly taken from a prison workshop—and lowered himself about 20 feet (six metres) to the ground using knotted bedsheets.

This breakout marks Taulant's fourth successful escape from custody in Europe. Prison and police records show a history of previous escapes and recaptures: he fled a Terni jail in October 2009 and was recaptured in December the same year near Milan; he escaped from a Parma high-security prison in February 2013 using the same file-and-bedsheet method, was later caught in Belgium in September 2013, transferred to Lantin prison near Liège and escaped again before being apprehended in 2015.

Taulant has been convicted on multiple counts that include drug and arms trafficking, assault and violent robbery. His cumulative sentences were expected to keep him incarcerated until 2048, but he is once again at large.

Prison Conditions and Official Response

Prison officials confirmed the escape and blamed overcrowding and staff shortages at Opera Prison. The facility — built for just over 900 inmates — currently holds 1,338 detainees, an occupancy rate of roughly 153 percent, according to the UILPA prison officers union. "The prisoners are managed by 533 guards, but for that number of prisoners we need 811 guards," said Gennarino De Fazio, the union's secretary-general. "It is an unsustainable situation — aside from harming the fundamental human rights of the inmates, it is also a huge challenge for the guards."

"It is an unsustainable situation." — Gennarino De Fazio, UILPA

Italian police have launched a nationwide manhunt and opened an investigation into the security lapse that enabled the escape. Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera headlined the story by dubbing Taulant "the wizard of escapes," noting that he has repeatedly recycled the same method across different countries and facilities.

The incident has renewed scrutiny of Italy's prison system, highlighting chronic overcrowding and staffing problems that officials and unions say increase risks for both inmates and corrections staff.