Escaped terror suspect Daniel Abed Khalife arrested as police sort out him off bike

A terror suspect who escaped from jail by strapping himself to the underside of a supply lorry has been caught after being tackled off his bike on a towpath by a police officer.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, a former soldier who fled HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday, was arrested on suspicion of being unlawfully at giant and being an escaped prisoner.

He was noticed by the plainclothes counterterrorism officer simply earlier than 11am on Saturday in northwest London, about 12 miles from the place he fled, and is now in police custody, the Metropolitan Police stated. Khalife was discovered with the bike, a sleeping bag and a cool bag filled with meals.

The hunt for Khalife started when Wandsworth jail sounded the alarm that one in all its inmates was on the free at 7.50am on Wednesday. The Bidfood lorry beneath which Khalife is believed to have strapped himself left the jail at 7.32am. Throughout the following three days, greater than 150 Met Cops labored “at tempo across the clock” as they acquired greater than 100 calls from the general public, supplied a £20,000 reward for info, and slowly closed in on Khalife.

Describing the investigation as “extraordinarily sophisticated”, with a number of police exercise being led by intelligence, counterterrorism boss Commander Dominic Murphy stated the seek for Khalife “actually gathered momentum” from Friday afternoon, with the variety of calls the drive acquired from the general public rising “considerably” in a single day and into the early hours of Saturday morning.

What adopted was an intelligence-led search of a house within the borough of Richmond at round 2am on Saturday. Whereas that search was occurring, a number of different stories got here in from members of the general public of sightings of Khalife within the Richmond and Chiswick areas of west London.

Consequently, armed officers, police canines and helicopters descended on the quiet, leafy space of Chiswick on Saturday morning. Automobiles have been stopped and inspected, residents have been requested for his or her IDs, and a police boat patrolled the River Thames close by, whereas there have been stories of gardens being searched.

Khalife was finally arrested close to Rowdell Street within the Northolt space, with footage displaying Khalife sitting on the canal towpath, with a motorcycle, a Waitrose cool bag and a sleeping bag close by.

“He was really arrested by a plainclothes officer… and he was using a pedal cycle, so a pushbike, on the time, was pulled off that pushbike by that officer and arrested at that location,” Mr Murphy stated.

“Upon being detained by the officer he was absolutely cooperative and handcuffed and arrested.”

Questioned on why it took three days to finish the search, Mr Murphy stated: “This isn’t a TV programme. This can be a real-life manhunt for any individual who has escaped from jail and he’s fairly a resourceful younger man.”

The preliminary confirmed sighting got here after police had scoured Richmond Park on Thursday night time and into the early hours of Friday, with native resident Chloe Dobbs, 23, telling The Impartial of the “overwhelming” sound of “fixed” sirens and police helicopters circling for “hours and hours”.

Then, on Friday afternoon, police stated that Khalife had been noticed rising from beneath the supply automobile at Wandsworth Roundabout shortly after he escaped.

Gabriella Lewis, from Chiswick, instructed BBC Information she believed she briefly spoke to Khalife as he sat on a bench in Chiswick Home Gardens on Friday morning.

After commenting on the new climate, she stated he claimed he had simply come out of the military. She described him as light and candy, and stated he was affectionate in direction of her canine.

Pointing to “the actual fact he may strap himself onto the underside” of a supply lorry, Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley stated Khalife’s escape was “clearly pre-planned”. In the meantime, intelligence sources instructed The Impartial it’s “nearly sure” that Khalife had “inside assist”.

Chatting with reporters on Saturday, CdrMurphy stated there had been no additional arrests to this point. However he added: “Anybody who supported Khalife earlier than, throughout or after – I can inform you we will likely be on the lookout for these people.” He stated the “fast-moving” investigation continues to be ongoing, with officers but to conduct “numerous inquiries”.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak stated he’s “very happy’’ the fear suspect has been arrested, as he praised efforts by the police and the general public find him, whereas Dwelling Workplace policing minister Chris Philp congratulated the police for his or her “fast and efficient’’ work.

Labour has demanded solutions from the federal government about how the escape occured, now that Khalife has been arrested. Shadow residence secretary Yvette Cooper stated: “We’d like solutions about how on earth a prisoner charged with terror and nationwide safety offences may have escaped on this method.”

It’s unclear whether or not Khalife will likely be taken to a higher-security location or again to the class B jail, the place he was awaiting trial after being accused of leaving faux bombs at a navy base.

Khalife can also be accused of eliciting or making an attempt to elicit info that may very well be helpful for a terrorist on 2 August 2021, and breaching the Official Secrets and techniques Act by gathering info that may very well be helpful to an enemy between 1 Might 2019 and 6 January 2022.

Khalife, a British citizen whose father is claimed to be Iranian, allegedly tried to go on the knowledge to a overseas energy, believed to be Iran, safety sources instructed The Impartial. They allege that he sought to “graduate” into spying with the fabric he had obtained from the MoD.

Khalife was attributable to seem in court docket on 13 November to face fees. He denied the fees towards him on the Outdated Bailey in July.

Writing for The Impartial, the chief inspector of prisons described the chaos inside overcrowded Wandsworth jail. Charlie Taylor instructed of “small, darkish and cramped” cells plagued with damp and vermin, the place inmates are routinely locked up for 22 hours a day with little entry to schooling or coaching to interrupt the cycle of offending.

Mr Taylor stated the one greatest downside that faces Wandsworth is a scarcity of employees, with shortages in each space. He added that many employees have been solely lately out of college and so inexperienced that prisoners incessantly have to inform new employees what they’re presupposed to do.