(AFP) COPENHAGEN — A gang leader convicted of attempted murder walked out of a Danish prison and fled in a taxi after convincing a guard he had permission to leave, officials and media said Sunday.
The prisoner, Mohammed Figuigui — nicknamed “The Painter” — went to the prison gate Friday afternoon and told the guard he had a permit to spend the weekend outside. After being let out he disappeared in a taxi, Danish media reported.
The guard realised his mistake 20 minutes later when another prisoner, the rightful beneficiary of the weekend pass, came to the gate, local media reported, saying the guard had been suspended.
The director of the Oestjylland prison on Denmark’s Jutland peninsula confirmed to AFP that “a prisoner escaped on Friday afternoon”.
Copenhagen police confirmed the escapee was Figuigui and said an international warrant for his arrest had been issued.
Figuigui, who according to media reports had tried to escape on two previous occasions, was serving an eight-year sentence for the attempted murder of a witness in a criminal case.
Some reports said he may have fled to Morocco.
The prison, which opened in 2006, is considered one of the most secure and modern in Denmark, and has 260 employees for 228 inmates.
