Police have arrested Rafal S., one of Poland’s most notorious gangsters who goes by his morbid pseudonym “Szkatula”, or “The Coffin”.

The gangster was stopped in the Warsaw suburb of Lesznowola, after police and special agents ascertained that he travelled through the town every day by car.

The arrest of “The Coffin” comes after he spent three years in hiding, as his criminal gang was broken up by police in 2008. The gang left a trail of murder victims, and was also involved in extortion as well as narcotics production.

Rafal S. was wanted by eight arrest warrants, as well as two European arrest warrants. Even though Polish police had put a 20,000 zloty (5,000 euro) bounty on the whereabouts of the gangster, he remained on the loose.

Rafal S. began his criminal career stealing cars for a group led by Piotr K., alias “Gangster”. He later joined the infamous Mokotow Group, led by Andrzej H, aka “The Cork”.

Police have also linked “The Coffin” with the execution of two gangsters from the Mokotow Group at the Klif shopping centre in Warsaw in 2002. (jb)

Source: IAR/PAP