One of Italy's most wanted Mafia bosses has been arrested in night raid by police after five years on the run.

Leonardo Gesualdo, 39, was dragged out of bed in the early hours of Tuesday morning by a specialist unit of the country's military police force the Carabinieri.

Dramatic body cam footage, released by the Italian Ministry of Defence, shows armed police entering the fugitive's hideout in Foggia, Southern Italy, catching him asleep in his bedroom.

Along with Gesualdo, police found a loaded gun which had its serial numbers filed off.

Gesualdo is a senior member of the infamously brutal Società Foggiana or Mafia Foggiana which operates across Southern Italy, mainly centered around the city of Foggia and the surrounding area.