09 September 2023 , 07:53
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Police have received more than 100 calls from members of the public as they hunt for escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife.
The news comes after officers said the first positive sighting of the former soldier was confirmed by the Met, who called the tip "significant". Dominic Murphy, the Met's Counter Terrorism Commander, says that Khalife was spotted walking towards Wandsworth town centre. The sighting is one of several "key lines" of enquiry the police are following and the force tonight moved to again reassure the public.
Cdr Murphy, said the force had received 100 calls from the public and the Wandsworth Roundabout sighting "could be very significant.” He added: “This remains a fast-paced and dynamic investigation, but I want the public to know that a large number of officers are working extremely hard to locate Khalife.”
The manhunt has been going on for four days now, since the 21-year-old broke out of Wandsworth prison. It is believed the former soldier, described as slim, 6ft 2in (1.9m), with short brown hair, strapped himself to the underside of a food delivery truck to get past guards. In the sighting at the Wandsworth roundabout Khalife was reportedly spotted by a member of the public crawling out from underneath it before walking in the direction of Wandsworth town centre. Pictures of the clothes worn by Khalife have been released, showing a white shirt and red checked trousers, presumably the kitchen uniform he was working in at the time of his escape.
The chef's clothing and footwear that Daniel Khalife was wearing following his escape from HMP Wandsworth (PA)Met police spent last night making door-to-door enquiries across London while a police helicopter scoured the south of the city from the air. Meanwhile thousands of hours of CCTV are being reviewed by specially trained officers in a bid to spot the missing man. The Met have also said they are working with other forces in the manhunt.
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A Met Police statement read: "The Met is offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information that leads to the arrest of Daniel Abed Khalife, as detectives investigate a sighting of him near Wandsworth Roundabout.
"Khalife escaped from Wandsworth Prison on Wednesday morning. The search for him remains a significant operation led by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command.More than 150 of the Met’s counter terrorism officers and staff, with support from colleagues across the Met and in other forces, have been working at pace around the clock, making extensive enquiries to try and find Khalife."
A lorry belonging to the Bidfood company was stopped by police Wednesday morning, following the escape from HMP Wandsworth (PA)"Detectives have received information from a member of the public who said they saw a man fitting Khalife’s description walking away from a BidFood van that had stopped near the south entrance to the Wandsworth Roundabout, at the top of Trinity Road, shortly after his escape. The man was then seen walking towards Wandsworth town centre.
Justice secretary Alex Chalk said yesterday "no stone will be unturned" in the hunt for the Khalife and stressed he "will be found and made to face justice". Airports across the nation went into chaos on Wednesday as Border Force agents carried out stringent checks to make sure the former soldier hadn't left the country.
He said his message to the suspect was to hand himself in: "We will be closing in on you, Daniel, you really need to come in and give yourself up."