MAFIA kingpin Emanuele Niola has been arrested... after he tried to buy a ticket to watch Napoli.

The 33-year-old has been on the run since a Naples court gave him a six-year prison term for drug trafficking.

4 Mafia kingpin Emanuele Niola has been arrested after trying to buy a ticket to watch Napoli Credit: Getty

Niola was originally held in 2013 as part of a crackdown on the Camorra, southern Italy's network of organised crime.

And his attempt to watch his beloved Serie A club against Inter Milan on October 21 led cops to find him earlier this week.

A caller to Napoli's ticket office aroused suspicion by only giving the first name "Emanuele" and refusing to provide a surname.

Police traced the call to Secondigliano, in northern Naples.

4 The Napoli fan has been on the run since a crackdown in 2013 Credit: Getty

Armed Carabinieri officers flooded the district - and nabbed the fugitive mobster at a car wash as he sat in a Fiat Punto.

Niola reportedly told police: "I want a new life, a long way away from drug dealing."

Niola was seen as a key member of the feared Di Lauro clan, headed by godfather Marco Di Lauro with the aid of his TEN sons.

Members were convicted of a range of offences including attempted murder, illegal gun possession and drug smuggling.

4 Emanuele Niola wanted to buy a ticket for Napoli vs Inter Milan this month Credit: AFP

4 Emanuele Niola has been arrested after being caught by a suspicious ticket salesperson Credit: Getty

Napoli visit Manchester City in the Champions League next Tuesday, with the return in Italy on November 1.

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