A Slovakian man who had managed to elude Italian authorities for more than 15 years has been arrested — while trying to attend the 2026 Winter Olympics, according to reports.
The suspect, who has not been named publicly, had been wanted for a rash of store thefts that were reported to authorities back in 2010.
The Slovak, who is 44, was arrested by a local Carabinieri police force while at a guesthouse he had booked on the outskirts of Milan, Reuters reported.
According to NBC News, the suspect told police he had traveled from his home Slovakia to try to see his nation’s men’s Olympic hockey team play against Finland — who had been the favorites to win the gold heading into these games.
However, the Slovakian team delivered a crushing 4-1 defeat to the Finnish squad on Wednesday, February 11, reported USA Today.
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Sports analysts have likened the Slovak victory to the American hockey team’s “Miracle on Ice” win against the Soviet Union during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York — a celebrated win that is still considered one of the most iconic moments in all of U.S. sports history.
But police confirmed the diehard hockey fan never made it to the legendary game at Santagiulia Arena in Milan, due to his sudden detention.
Police did not go into the how but did tell local media that they were able to track down the suspect once he had checked into the guesthouse.
He was then brought directly to the central San Vittore Prison.
According to the reports, he has already started serving an 11-month, seven-day sentence at the prison. It was unclear when that sentence was imposed.
Slovakia’s men’s hockey team will be back on the ice on Friday, February 13, to take on host team Italy.
Then, the team looks to close out its preliminary round on Saturday against Sweden, who is now the team favored to walk away with the gold medal.
Slovakia did win the bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. That year, NHL players still were not eligible to compete for their country.
But the Slovakian squad this year is led by Montreal Canadiens standout Juraj Slafkovský, who scored a pair of goals Wednesday during the team’s trouncing of Finland.
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Slafkovský, a forward, did compete during the 2022 games. Now 21, he was just 17 at the time — the youngest hockey player to take the ice in Beijing that winter — and had not yet been drafted into the NHL.
The Slovakian team also boasts center Dalibor Dvorský, 20, of the St. Louis Blues, who scored the game-winning goal against Finland with less than 13 minutes left in the game.
It was unclear if the detained Slovakian man was actually aware of his wanted status with Italian authorities.
This is the third time that the Winter Olympics have taken place in Italy.
Festivities for the Milano Cortina Winter Games officially get underway on February 6 from inside San Siro Stadium in Milan. The final day of these games will be February 22.
The 2026 Winter Olympics can be seen on NBC, and highlights can be found at the Olympics website.
