Ex-prisoner who got swastika tattooed on wrist after joining ‘far-right’ army regiment feels ‘reborn’ after its removal

A former prisoner and drug addict who got a swastika tattoo on his wrist after joining a “far-right” army regiment aged 16, making his life “a nightmare”, has said he feels “reborn” after getting the ink removed.

Ilario Guiducci, who grew up in Lucca, Italy, but now lives in London, got the tattoo in 1977 after joining the army as a cadet in Italy.

He said he was “a little bit wild” in his youth and, after getting the swastika tattoo, he developed a drug addiction, which later led to several arrests and a prison sentence which saw him jailed for nearly nine years in the UK.

Ilario said he hid the tattoo from everyone, including his now-wife Karen, 60, a teacher, who was “surprised” and “very confused” as to why he had the “extreme tattoo” inked on his wrist when she first saw it one year into their relationship.

Recently, however, Ilario, who runs his own catering company, was put forward for NAAMA Studios’ Second Chances programme – an initiative designed to empower those imprisoned by their ink – and his swastika tattoo has been removed.

The 62-year-old said the tattoo removal has been life-changing and he now feels more confident than ever.

“It’s been a nightmare over the years, but I’m here and I’m looking at my arm and I can’t believe it’s not there anymore,” he said.

“I really cannot believe it.”

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the swastika is an ancient symbol used in many cultures that was adopted by Adolf Hitler and turned into a symbol of hatred, antisemitism, and infamy.

Ilario said he got the swastika tattoo on his left wrist aged 16, along with some of his fellow army comrades, as he was “blind and young”.

Initially, he said he was “proud” to have the symbol inked on his skin, as his “far-right” regiment was “the best one” and he wanted to fit in.

However, even though he was not the only person to get the swastika tattoo, he soon realised how “completely naive” he was.

“That kind of regiment, it was far-right, and I let myself be blinded by what they had to offer,” he said.

“We (thought we) were better than everybody – we were special people, strong, fantastic, everybody was afraid of us; that is when I got my tattoo.

“But in the meantime, it wasn’t just that. I became a user of drugs and was behaving badly, so it wasn’t really something I cared about, (having) a swastika tattoo.

“Of course, I have grown up and I found out, with maturity, it wasn’t just the tattoo that was the problem, so I regretted having that done.”

When Ilario got the swastika tattoo, he said he also started taking drugs, including cannabis, heroin, and cocaine – “anything (he) could get hold of”.

He said he “wasted all of (his) youth” taking drugs, and his addiction led to him facing dishonourable discharge from the army at the age of 22.

Prior to this, at the age of 20 in 1981, he moved to London – and this is where he said his “criminal career” began.

Ilario said he started selling drugs and was living a “lavish life”, but he was arrested several times over the following years.

In 1989, he said he was sentenced for possession with intent to supply class A drugs and possession of firearms and spent nearly nine years behind bars in several prisons across England, including HM Prison Blundeston, in Suffolk, which has since closed.

During the sentencing hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Ilario said he was described as a “Machiavelli of the organisation” by the judge – referencing Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian political philosopher – as he was “cunning”, “lovely” and manipulative.

Ilario said that at that time, his “life was all about drugs” and so his “nasty” addiction continued, even in prison.

“I became a junkie on his own; a foreign junkie in the English prisons,” he said.

“Of course, I still liked to use (drugs), and the addiction was stronger (than my ability) to just keep my head down, so the only thing I did was fight – what the army taught me – so I became a ‘mad wolf’ in prison.”

Ilario said he started “conning people in prison” to obtain drugs and sustain his addiction.

However, during his time at Blundeston, he was referred to Forward Trust’s (formerly RAPt) – a national organisation which empowers people to break the cycles of addiction or crime to move forward with their lives – abstinence-based programme.

With some persuasion and encouragement, he completed the programme and eventually stopped taking and selling drugs in 1996.

After leaving prison in 1997, Ilario said he started going to AA meetings and has “never looked back”. He said his “life changed completely” and he has now been clean for 27 years.

In 2000, Ilario set up his own company, Cocoa Delight, which caters for a range of events in London, including weddings and parties.

However, Ilario’s swastika tattoo served as a constant reminder of his former self and the poor decisions he had made in his youth, and it continued to have a “massive impact” on his life.

Ilario did not want anyone to see it, including his wife Karen who he first met in 2000, and so he did his utmost to hide it every day and “keep it secret”.

He said he painted over it, wore a watch, and considered getting another tattoo to cover it, but he was too ashamed to go to a tattoo parlour.

He even bought his own tattooing equipment, but he did not know how to use it, and so the tattoo continued to affect his everyday life.

“For years, it’s been a nightmare. For years, I have covered it up,” he said.

“Sadly, a few times I made mistakes, especially in the summertime when I washed my hand not realising the paint had gone; I realised a few people saw it.

“Until I was in prison, it was OK, until I was in the criminality, it was OK, but when things had changed, it was very bad.”

Recently, Ilario said he was given the opportunity to have his swastika tattoo removed by NAAMA Studios, which is running its Second Chances initiative, providing a premium tattoo removal service free of charge to those who need it most.

Initially, Ilario said he did not believe “it could be true”, but he has now had several sessions and the tattoo has “disappeared”.