Detainee escapes from police van; but is later caught
The 36-year-old Algerian, who had a European arrest warrant for arson in Germany, escaped from police custody as he was being taken into a court room. He was later caught in the Algarve.
What?
A 36-year-old prisoner escaped from police custody as he was being transported in a mobile van to the Lisbon Court of Appeal, where he was due to be heard on Tuesday.
On Wednesday morning, the GNR arrested the Algerian man in Estômbar, Lagoa.
According to reports, the man, who also lived in Alvor, had come to the Algarve to visit his British girlfriend.
This morning, the Algerian was spotted by a witness near the Lagoa Bus Terminal, who reported it to the GNR. The man was preparing to catch a bus to Estômbar.
The GNR has just issued a statement explaining that the soldiers then headed to Estômbar, where, at 9.40am, ‘it was possible to spot a man on the public highway, whose characteristics coincided with those reported by the Public Security Police (PSP) when he fled’.
More details
The suspect is an Algerian national and was due to appear before a judge on a European arrest warrant for arson in Germany. He escaped as he was getting out of the van, freed himself from the handcuffs, and fled through the streets of Lisbon.
‘The police officers who were transporting the detainee were surprised by him when they opened the door of the police vehicle transporting detainees. The detainee fled and managed to free himself from the handcuffs on one of his wrists during his escape,’ the PSP confirmed in a statement.
He was arrested on Sunday at Lisbon airport and had a European arrest warrant for the offence of arson, committed in Germany.
After the escape, the authorities set up a manhunt operation, with ‘various resources from different PSP departments’ in coordination with the other Security Forces and Services ‘endeavouring to locate the fugitive’, ‘last seen in Rua VÃtor Cordon’.
In the same statement, the PSP also said that ‘an internal enquiry has been launched to ascertain the circumstances of this occurrence’.