ACCUSED terrorist Daniel Khalife travelled 12 miles in four days with a “survival pack” and a stolen mountain bike after his prison break.
The ex-soldier, 21, was finally captured by cops on a bridge next to the Grand Union Canal in west London after a four-day manhunt.
A mountain bike was found upturned when Khalife was finally tracked down[/caption]
Khalife, who spent four days on the run covering 12.2 miles, also had a sleeping bag[/caption]
Exclusive footage obtained by The Sun showed he had a bike next to him as the police’s wild goose chase finally came to an end.
There also appeared to be a sleeping bag as well as a Waitrose cool bag containing groceries.
Khalife had been on the run for four days since fleeing HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday morning.
But his arrest today in Northolt came just 12.2 miles away from the jail in south-west London.
The drawn-out pursuit had seen officers wrongly arrest an innocent man they mistook for Khalife in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
A £20,000 reward was also offered for useful information, as police scoured parks and rivers while also monitoring airports.
The Metropolitan Police has now revealed this afternoon Khalife was pulled off a bike on a towpath and arrested by a plain-clothed officer.
Khalife had escaped Wandsworth on Wednesday morning, hiding under a food delivery van – sparking a massive police manhunt.
Eyewitness Ethan Andrews today told The Sun how he witnessed Khalife’s arrest while on his way to a nearby gym.
Ethan, a 20-year-old Bath University student from nearby Greenford, said: “I was crossing over the bridge and saw this man with cable ties around his hands.
“One of the cops said, ‘We’re undercover officers.’
“I keep up with the news and I recognised him and said, ‘Is that the guy who was in prison?’, and one officer said, ‘yes’.
“I pulled my phone out and started filming. The police told me not to but how often am I going to see something like this again?
“The three officers had him on the floor and then five minutes later there were loads more police on the scene – some from the Territorial Support Group too.
“The guy had been on a bike and had a sleeping bag – he seemed to have a change of clothes.”
Another local previously told the Chiswick Calendar website of apparently seeing him sleeping on a bench at Kew Bridge.
Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Met’s counter terrorism command, said this afternoon the suspect was “fully co-operative” with officers when finally arrested.
Khalife was taken into custody at a west London police station and Cdr Murphy said he would “still stand trial for original offences”.
Earlier, prime minister Rishi Sunak said he was “very pleased” Khalife had been arrested and praised police and the public for their efforts to help find him.
Mr Sunak told reporters: “This is obviously very welcome news. And again, my thanks to the police but also to the public for their help.”
Did YOU see Daniel Khalife get arrested? Email aidan.radnedge@thesun.co.uk or call 07423 720250
Khalife is suspected of making his escape by hiding under a food delivery truck when working in the jail’s kitchen.
He fled while wearing a chef’s uniform of white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel toecap boots.
Khalife is said to have used makeshift straps to fix himself to the truck as it was waved out of the prison.
Extra security checks at ports and airports in the hunt for Khalife caused travel disruption for holiday-makers.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk announced a probe into Wandsworth prison when updating the House of Commons on Khalife’s escape.
Khalife, previously attached to the Royal Signal Corps before being discharged, was accused of leaving fake bombs at an RAF base in January.
He went missing for more than three weeks after the bomb hoax before his arrest on January 26.
Another charge, under the Official Secrets Act, alleges he collected personal information from a Ministry of Defence computer system about troops that could be useful to an enemy.
He was being held on remand at Wandsworth, ahead of a trial date scheduled for November 20.
There had been a massive police manhunt for the missing 21-year-old[/caption]
The ex-soldier escaped from Wandsworth prison on Wednesday morning[/caption]
He previously served in the military in the Royal Signal Corps[/caption]
Khalife is thought to have escaped jail strapped to a BidFood truck[/caption]
Police released images of the kind of prison kitchen clothing they believe he wore[/caption]
September 09, 2023 at 11:01PM
from The Sun