Terror suspect's escape route out of prison as he clung to food delivery van
Today police revealed the exact route that the food delivery van took, as a terror suspect clung underneath it, to escape prison.
Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, escaped from category B prison HMP Wandsworth yesterday morning, by strapping himself to the bottom of the food truck. It is reported that he was working in the kitchen at the time, and was wearing chef’s clothes.
Khalife was on remand awaiting trial in relation to terror and Official Secrets Act offences, including committing a “bomb hoax” and trying to elicit information that would have been “useful to a terrorist”. He was arrested in January after a fake bomb was allegedly discovered and was to stand trial in November.
After escaping into the London rush hour, a national manhunt was triggered as police scrambled to track him down. This led to airports across the UK introducing extra security measures causing lengthy queues. Alongside that, ports and docks began searching cars as well.
But there have been no confirmed sightings of Khalife, something counter terror police admitted was "unusual" and they said his military training might explain how he has so far evaded capture.
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The route of the escape
The map of the route taken by the food delivery van that Khalife escaped underThe food van left HMP Wandsworth at 7:32am, and Khalife was declared missing 18 minutes later at 7:50am. Police were notified at 8:15am before the van Khalife had escaped under was stopped at 8:37am. After turning out of Wandsworth, the food van turned onto Heathfield Road, then turned left onto Magdalen Road, and left again onto Trinity Road. A214.
From here it continued up to Wandsworth Road Roundabout and took the first exit onto Swandon Way, A217. Then it took a left onto Old York Road, passing Wandsworth Town train station, before heading onto Fairfield Street. It then turned right onto Wandsworth High Street, and straight onto West Hill before police eventually stopped it at the junction of Carlton Drive and Upper Richmond Road.
Khalife was a 'model citizen'
The 21-year-old former soldier turned suspected terrorist (AP)
The young man escaped from HMP Wandsworth yesterday morning (Sky News)As new images were released of Khalife showing him in uniform, his former colleagues said the former solider was a “model soldier” who even won an award for perfect discipline and behaviour. This was in his two years time with 16 Signal Regiment, based in Stafford, which concentrates on communications, working alongside other Army units and whose motto is Find A Way Or Make One.
One year, Khalife even won the regiment’s Best Soldier Award. A former comrade told the Mirror: “At 18, when he joined, he was a model soldier and everyone considered him to be the best person to work with. He was honest, hard working, dedicated and committed. Although very honest, once he was caught lying and he was absolutely devastated for days.”
Counter terror chief update
In a press briefing this afternoon, counter terror chiefs updated the country on their ongoing search as Khalife has been missing for over 36 hours now. They admitted that it is possible Khalife could have gotten out the country, but continued to focus their search efforts on London where they believed he remained.
Despite over 150 officers and staff being engaged in the manhunt, alongside partner agencies across the country, there have been no confirmed sightings of Khalife, something Counter Terrorism Commander Dominic Murphy admitted was “unusual”.
In the press briefing on Thursday, Mr Murphy said: “This was a really busy area of London and we’ve had no confirmed sightings in any of that information, which is a little unusual, and perhaps testament to Daniel Khalife’s ingenuity in his escape and some of his movements after his escape.
“It’s important that we remember that we have some of the best military in the world here in the UK and he was trained. He was a trained soldier – so ultimately he has skills that perhaps some sections of the public don’t have.”
'Open mind' over whether Khalife received help
HMP Wandsworth - where Khalife escaped from (Press Association Images)There has been no confirmation that Khalife had help escaping HMP Wandsworth but police said they were keeping an “open mind” on it. This came after reports claiming it was likely the 21-year-old had received help to complete his daring escape.
Police also conceded that given the nature of his escape, it was likely that he had spent time planning it, before strapping himself to the bottom of the van. It is believed he was working in the kitchen at the time, raising questions how a terror suspect was allowed to do this.
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Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said a prisoner has to earn a “certain level of trust” in order to be allowed to work in a kitchen. He said: “If you’re a prisoner who’s working in the kitchen, you would have earned a certain level of trust anyway, because you would have been seen as someone who could be safe around things like knives, so you would only be allowed to do that and you earn some trust as a prisoner, so you would have kept your nose clean.”
Moment cops swarm delivery van used in escape
The food delivery van Khalife clung to the bottom of (Met Police)Footage shows the moment police finally swooped on the van at 8.37am. Once there, police found the straps that Khalife had used to escape, but no sign of the former soldier. Dozens of passers-by were unaware of what was unfolding as they walked by during the busy rush hour in the capital.
Meanwhile a number of officers gathered around the van, where it had been pulled over, and investigated its underside. Officers used sniffer dogs as well to investigate the vehicle and look underneath it.
An onlooker, who took the footage, told MailOnline: “The police pulled up behind the van after ordering it to stop. They spent a few hours looking all the way through it, in the back, in the driver's cab, underneath it and even on top of it.
"They had sniffer dogs trying to pick up the scent of something, but they didn't find anything of any note. I didn't know what was going on. It's only tonight that I've found out this was the truck used by the escaped prisoner. It's quite shocking.”
Lookalike stopped by police at station
The man, who looked similar to the suspect, was arrested then de-arrested (SWNS)Officers swooped on a man at Banbury station in Oxfordshire on Thursday in the hunt for Khalife. But it's understood the man, who looked similar to the suspect, was arrested then de-arrested when officers established he was not the terror suspect.
Train passenger Oliver, in his 20s, was left waiting outside the station while the incident took place. When the train then pulled into the station, he was able to snap a clear picture.
Oliver said: "We went through Banbury on the way to Basingstoke. Just before we got there, they said on the tannoy that we couldn't go to Banbury and they're delaying train as they think there's an escaped terrorist at station.
"It was a 15-minute wait - when we pulled into the station he was right outside my window - it looked like him a lot. When we were waiting at Banbury I was a bit worried at first, I was thinking a lot of things - is he on the track, is he trying to get on the train, what's going to happen. It was a bit daunting at first but I'm glad they told us correct info because sometimes they withhold it."
Police have since confirmed the man was not Khalife.
Timeline of the escape
- The van Khalife was strapped to left HMP Wandsworth around 7:32am
- Khalife declared missing at 7:50am
- Police were notified around 8:15am
- Around 8.37am the van was stopped on the junction with Upper Richmond Road and Carlton Drive, when it had been on its way back.
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