An Albanian criminal known for multiple prison escapes, Toma Taulant, 42, has been apprehended in Spain after eluding authorities across Italy and Belgium for years. Nicknamed "the escape wizard" for his inventive methods of breaking out of detention, Taulant was arrested in Tarragona, marking his fifth capture.

Taulant’s criminal record includes charges such as violent robbery and drug dealing. His prison escapes began in 2009 when he first fled a jail in Terni, central Italy, using knotted bed sheets to scale a perimeter wall while guards were distracted by an inmate football match. After being recaptured, he was transferred to a prison in Parma. There, in 2013, he sawn through cell bars and again used knotted sheets to climb over a wall and escape.

Following his flight, he made his way to Belgium but was soon caught and imprisoned at Lantin prison. There, he orchestrated a breakout that involved convincing fellow inmates to form a human pyramid, allowing him to climb over the prison wall to reach a getaway vehicle driven by accomplices. Despite the dramatic escape, authorities eventually recaptured him.

By December of last year, Taulant was held in Opera jail in Milan with a scheduled release date set for 2048. However, he managed to escape once again using the same combination of a saw and knotted bed sheets. Spanish police later tracked Taulant to Tarragona, where he was found with a group of fellow Albanian criminals.

Authorities identified Taulant by a distinctive deep scar on his cheek as he sat in a car with three others. Reports state that he resisted arrest, and the others accompanying him attempted to prevent his handcuffing. During the operation, one individual injured two officers. Police recovered a Sig Sauer pistol abandoned at the scene and found that Taulant was carrying forged identity documents along with two €500 banknotes, which may have been counterfeit.

The €500 notes remain legal tender, although the European Central Bank stopped issuing them in 2019 due to their frequent use in illicit activities such as drug trafficking and money laundering. Taulant currently remains in custody in a Tarragona prison and awaits extradition to Italy to face further legal proceedings. Spanish authorities described his capture as ending a saga that “sometimes reality is stranger than fiction,” highlighting the unusual nature of his repeated escape tactics.