Italy has hailed the capture of a wig-disguised mobster who had been on the list of the country's top 30 fugitives.

Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa's office said paramilitary police arrested Luigi Esposito in Posillipo, a northern coastal suburb of Naples.

Esposito, on the run since 2003, was using a wig and false name when captured.

Esposito winked at relatives and pursed his lips in a sign of a kiss outside the Naples police headquarters as officers led him off to prison.

Naples newspaper Il Mattino quoted local commander Mario Cinque as describing Esposito as an expert money-launderer, who funnelled illicit cash from drug trafficking into tourism and other businesses for the Camorra crime syndicate.

Il Mattino reported that Esposito was convicted in 1981 of possessing weapons and ammunition, and was among 33 people indicted in 2003 as alleged members of the Camorra clan based on Naples' north side.