Dramatic moment smirking Daniel Khalife finally snared and 'winks' at passers-by

10 September 2023 , 11:02

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Dramatic moment smirking Daniel Khalife finally snared and 'winks' at passers-by

This is the moment smirking escapee Daniel Khalife is finally snared after his four days on the run were brought to a dramatic end, with police threatening to shoot the laughing former soldier. The arrest came after a massive operation involving security services bugging phones and even elite SAS troops being brought in.

The brazen 21-year-old winked at passers-by after the 75-hour man hunt came to a close following his escape from Wandsworth prison on Wednesday. A plain-clothed undercover officer hauled the "arrogant" fugitive off his bike on a canal towpath in Northolt, North West London before making an arrest.

The officer yelled "Don’t move or we’ll shoot" as they finally caught the jailbreak terror suspect, who was heard crying: "It's not me! I ain't done anything" as he was wrestled to the ground before his hands were tied together. Officers perched on a grassy verge behind a wall before pouncing at 10.41am on Saturday morning.

Plain-clothes police screamed 'Don’t move or we’ll shoot' as they finally snared the 21-year-old (The Sun / News Licensing)

Footage obtained by The Sun newspaper showed the former soldier sat in handcuffs next to a sleeping bag and a Waitrose cool bag as six men surround him before dozen of vehicles descended on the scene. He glared at police as he was being secured.

Student Ethan Andrews, 20, witnessed the arrest. He said: “The guy looked up at me, winked and started laughing. I thought, how arrogant is that? I can’t believe he was just sitting there, looked at me and just winked.”

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Wearing a white T-shirt, dark shorts and trainer socks, the blue bike Khalife used is seen placed upside down and disabled in case he somehow managed to wriggle free. He sits waiting as he is cuffed with his grey trainers sitting alongside him. His sleeping bag can also be seen in the clip.

Khalife escaped from HMP Wandsworth prison on Wednesday (Metropolitan Police/AFP via Gett)

A witness said he 'arrogantly' winked as he was re-captured (The Sun / News Licensing)

According to the Metropolitan Police, Khalife has been arrested on suspicion of being unlawfully at large, and being an escaped prisoner. It comes as reports suggest two guards at Wandsworth Prison have been suspended following his dramatic escape from the category B jail.

Another witness said: “He showed no emotion and didn’t say a word. By that point he looked resigned and was led away pretty easily. There were plenty of police officers around him so there was no chance he was getting away.”

Khalife, from Teddington, south west London, is likely to face further charges on top of existing terror and spying allegations in the wake of his prison escape. The Ministry of Justice said that it was investigating the circumstances around his escape.

The fugitive was pulled off a bicycle by a Met Police officer on a towpath in west London (Stan Kujawa)

Anti-terror police, MI5 and MI6 all combined to bug phones and carry out a raid to assist the capture as the attention now shifts to the hunt for any accomplices intensifies as detectives today continue to question the former soldier. Aiding the arrest were "spooks" - highly-trained intelligence officers - who intercepted communications leading dozens of cops to a 'safe house' in Richmond, south west London.

It was there where they were convinced the terror suspect was hiding as the collaboration between the specialist spies saw officers just miss him possibly by minutes, before finally capturing the smiling escapee a few miles away. The SAS - one of the world’s elite special forces that specialises in hostage rescue and counter-terrorism - were earlier summoned from their Hereford HQ to barracks in Richmond as part of the hunt.

Khalife sits on the flood moments after his arrest on Saturday (The Sun / News Licensing)

MI5 and MI6 combined forces for an operation with at one stage involved 'direct oversight' from the Home Secretary. It was hailed as the first high profile success for the Government's new counter-intelligence nerve centre.

Khalife - accused of trying to spy for an enemy state and plotting a fake bomb hoax - is understood to have escaped by strapping himself underneath a food delivery van. He had boasted about his plan to flee jail, bragging in front of wardens before somehow slipping out on Wednesday.

Former inmates said he regularly bragged about wanting to escape

Student Ethan, 20, added: “I was crossing over the bridge and saw this man with cable ties around his hands. One of the cops said, ‘We’re undercover officers.’ The guy had been on a bike and had a sleeping bag – he seemed to have a change of clothes. The three officers had him on the floor and then five minutes later there were loads more police on the scene.”

The inmate who served time alongside Khalife told the Mirror: “He always used to brag about escaping from prison. He used to say ‘Just watch me!’ It was an open secret because he was so blatant about it. I’m surprised none of the guards reported him. Someone is going to get it in the neck for this."

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Police rushed to Chiswick on Saturday following the sighting (Stan Kujawa)

Justice secretary Alex Chalk claims correct security protocols and staffing levels were in place at the time and speaking to the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he said: "The real question is whether the protocols were followed to the extent they should be."

Earlier, Mr Chalk told Sky News: "Out of an abundance of caution some prisoners there, some of those on remand, have been moved. Additional resources have of course gone into Wandsworth, so there's additional governor support, a former governor with particular expertise in security."

Sam Elliott-Gibbs