A 29-year-old prisoner managed to escape yesterday morning from the Prison Establishment (EP) of Funchal, Madeira. The PSP immediately mounted a manhunt and managed to capture him, already wearing other clothes, later that same day. He was taken back to the EP.
The communication of the evasion was made to the PSP by 9 am yesterday, Thursday, The man, resident in Funchal, had been arrested in December last year and was in preventive detention awaiting trial for the crimes of theft and extortion.
According to the Diário de Notícias da Madeira, the prisoner took advantage of the works in the kitchen of the EP to evade the surveillance of the prison guards and escape. Immediately, “police steps were taken by the Police Division of Funchal with a view to its signaling, detention and reconduction to the prison”, explains the PSP through a statement.
Spotted wearing different clothes by patrol
Police patrols in the areas usually frequented by the prisoner were successful at 9.20 pm, in the Penteada area. Despite having already changed clothes, the fugitive was recognized by a patrol, but managed to escape into the interior of a nearby farm. Police reinforcements were mobilized and, after a search operation, it was possible to capture the inmate around 10 pm.
The arrest was reported to the magistrate on duty at the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Judicial Court of the District of Funchal, who ordered his return to the EPF, thus awaiting trial for the crime of evasion in that establishment.
