Mafia boss who suffered from permanent erection was on the run from police for seven years before being caught

A life on the run is hard enough, but for one man it would have been even more difficult thanks to one very noticeable issue.

Italian mafia boss Francesco Castriotta, 42, suffered with a permanent erection after apparent 'prolonged cocaine use' which resulted in him being in pain.

Whilst in court in 2009, he needed to have an ice pack on his crotch, claiming that his painful condition (known as priapism) meant that a jail sentence would be cruel for him.

Priapism commonly affects males in their 30s and older, and due to the lack of blood being unable to flow properly to and from the penis it can be painful and last for hours.

Drug lord Francesco Castriotta was caught after seven years on the run. (Police Handout)

For Castriotta, he was in tears in court as he begged to not be sent to prison whilst he suffered from the condition.

Luckily for Castriotta, a sympathetic judge decided to allow him to be on house arrest and be more comfortable before his trial date due to the condition, but this turned out to be a huge mistake.

Castriotta, who is nicknamed 'Lord of Coca', managed to evade the police and head out on the run for seven years as a fugitive.

In January 2017 he was arrested after his stint on the run and found in Spain. He received 21 years for his part in the crime of conspiracy to drug trafficking.

It's thought that information passed on by the Italian Carabinieri's Special Operations Group was the clue to catching Castriotta, and ending his flee from the law.

Castriotta suffered with priapism, meaning he had a permanent erection that caused him pain. (Getty Stock Image)

It's thought that he was finally caught after police were able to track the phones of his mother, father and brother after Castriotta invited them to come to Spain and spend Christmas with him at his rented apartment.

The Italian criminal is thought to have been one of the top drug lords out of Italy in the 90s, and even during his time in hiding he was still making lucrative deals to get cocaine from South America to Milan.

Tried in Italian courts, his sentence of 21 years means he won't be free until 2038 from prison.

At the time of his conviction he reportedly wrote to a friend: "I know it will get me. The idea to go back inside I climb the anguish, I prefer to call it quits, but as a free man."