- British prisoner among five on run after escaping Portuguese jail
- Mark Cameron Roscaleer escaped by climbing a wall using a ladder
- The escapees are convicted of crimes such as theft, kidnapping and robbery
British prisoner among five on run after escaping Portuguese jail
A British prisoner is one of five inmates who escaped from a high-security prison in Portugal. The breakout happened at the Vale de Judeus prison, about 43 miles north of Lisbon, on Saturday.
The prisoners, including Mark Cameron Roscaleer, escaped by climbing a wall using a ladder and reportedly had outside help. Roscaleer was serving a nine-year sentence for kidnapping and robbery.
The other escapees include two Portuguese men, an Argentinian, and a Georgian, local media says. The two Portuguese escapees were serving 25-year sentences for offences including drug trafficking, criminal association, theft, robbery and kidnapping, Portugal’s prison service told Reuters. The other three had been convicted of offences such as theft, kidnapping and robbery.
Vale de Judeus is a high-security prison with a capacity of 560 inmates, according to its website.
The prison service said the escape happened on Saturday morning, at 10:00 local time (09:00 GMT). The search for the five men is ongoing.
Frederico Morais, the head of SNCGP, told Portugal’s SIC Noticias news channel, that the inmates were extremely dangerous and the public should not approach them.