Five highly dangerous escaped prisoners in Portugal are on the run, and a pursuit is underway across Europe

On September 7, 2024, an astonishing prison break occurred at a high-security prison north of Lisbon, Portugal. Five “highly dangerous” prisoners successfully escaped and were still at large as of September 11.

The five escaped prisoners include two Portuguese, one British, one Argentine, and one Georgian, ranging in age from 34 to 63. They were imprisoned for serious crimes such as kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking. Some have prison sentences of up to 25 years. It is understood that in this prison break, three masked people provided a six-meter-high ladder and vehicles outside the prison to help the prisoners escape. Although the prison's surveillance equipment captured the escape process, the prison guards failed to notice it in time and were delayed for about an hour. At the time of the incident, the electrified fence of the prison did not work as it was turned off.

Portuguese Minister of Justice Rita Judice said that Portugal is making every effort to search for these five escaped prisoners and issued arrest warrants across Europe on the 10th. The Spanish police have also strengthened border controls to prevent the escaped prisoners from fleeing across the border. Luis Neves, an official of the Portuguese criminal police department, emphasized: “We are dealing with extremely violent people, and people's lives are at risk.” The prison break has caused widespread concern among the Portuguese people. In addition, the two supervisors of the prison involved have been removed from their posts, and a major inspection has been launched in all 49 prisons in Portugal. At present, police forces from various European countries are working closely together to fully pursue these five dangerous escaped prisoners on the run.