Only a handful of family members were allowed to attend.

Matteo Messina Denaro was convicted of numerous crimes, including for his role in planning the 1992 murders of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

Investigators have identified various criminal activities tied to the 'Ndrangheta, including large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering and extortion.

Suspects, including politicians from the 'Ndrangheta home region of Calabria, face charges including mafia association, murder, extortion, fraud, rigging of public contracts, bribery and vote buying, police say.

The breakthrough comes less than a month after an operation in which European police arrested more than 100 mafia suspects in a major operation against drugs and weapons smuggling.

Judicial sources said he was being treated for cancer and had an operation last year, followed by a series of appointments under a false name.

The search ended on Monday when officers found Graham Potter hiding out in a derelict house in the small town of Ravenshoe, Queensland after a tip-off from the public.

Italian police caught up with him in the Caribbean after he posted a cooking video on YouTube which displayed his tattoos.

Prosecutors are seeking to prove a web of crimes dating back to the 1990s, both bloody and white-collar, including murder, drug trafficking, extortion, money laundering and abuse of office.