Gregory Robinson
A terror suspect who escaped prison ‘laughed’ as he was caught by police after going on the run.
Daniel Khalife, 21, remains in police custody after he was finally arrested in north-west London on Saturday (9 September).
The arrest came at 10:41 BST after a search lasting four days following Khalife’s escape from Wandsworth prison.
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"Officers apprehended him just before 11am today in the Chiswick area, and he is currently in police custody," the police said in a statement.
"We thank the public and media for their support with info & appeals."
They added: “We would like to thank the public and media for their support throughout our investigation to locate Khalife, and we will provide a further update on his arrest in due course.”
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also praised officers from the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
He told reporters: “I’m very pleased with the news and my thanks to the police officers for their fantastic work over the past couple of days, but also to the public who came forward with an enormous number of leads to help the police in their inquiries."
Armed officers, as well as police dogs, had been seen searching the Chiswick area where Khalife was believed to have been spotted.
The Met said Khalife had been arrested on suspicion of being unlawfully at large and being an escaped prisoner.
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Khalife reportedly laughed as he was arrested shortly after a plain-clothes police officer pulled him off a bike on a canal towpath.
In footage obtained by The Sun, Khalife can be seen sitting in handcuffs next to a sleeping bag and a Waitrose cool bag.
After the former soldier escaped from Wandsworth Prison on Wednesday (6 September) he had been spotted walking towards Wandsworth town centre the same day. Police later confirmed sightings of him in Chiswick on Friday night.
Detectives searching for Khalife scoured Richmond Park, which isn’t far from HMP Wandsworth and had performed an ‘intelligence-led search at a residential premises’ in the Richmond area.
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The police had offered a £20,000 reward for information leading to his arrest but this has yet to be claimed.
It is currently unclear whether Khalife will be returned to Wandsworth prison or taken to a higher-security location.
Khalife had been working in the prison's kitchen and was dressed in a cook’s uniform when he vanished. It is believed that he held onto straps on the underside of a truck to escape.
He was discharged from the army in May.