Report requested on the circumstances of prisoner’s escape

Police chief Stelios Papatheodorou on Friday requested a factual report to shed light on the events that led to the escape of a prisoner detained in a drug possession case.

The incident occurred when the suspect, who was detained in connection with a drug possession case involving 1.5 kilograms of narcotics, managed to evade police custody earlier on Friday. The suspect was among a group of prisoners being transported to the courts for their scheduled hearings.

Upon their return from the court proceedings, the prisoners, including the suspect, were being escorted back to the Central Prison in Nicosia. It was during this transit that the suspect, identified as a Syrian national, made his escape.

He was eventually arrested two hours after his escape, at approximately 3pm on the same day.

No information was immediately made known as to whether the suspects and the individual in question were handcuffed, as provided for in the relevant protocol for the transfer of prisoners to the courts.