MADRID - Guisepp Polverino, one of the most important leaders of the Italian Mafia, has been arrested by Spanish Guardia Civil in collaboration with the Italian Carbineros in a bar in Divina Pastora in the Spanish province of Jerez.

The arrest took place on Tuesday and was confirmed by security forces on Friday. Polverino was arrested along with a companion Raffaelle Vallefuoco after being discovered carrying false documents.

Fifty-three-year-old Polverino left jail in 2006 and has been on an arrest warrant for the past 18 months.

He was thought to have controlled a crime empire worth over 1 billion euros (1.3 billion U.S. dollars). He was among the top 30 criminals most wanted by the Italian police, while Vallecuoco is among the 100 most wanted in his country.

He will be taken to Madrid where he faces a possible extradition to Italy.