A former British soldier accused of a crime of “terrorism” for violating the Official Secrets Act and suspected of espionage was arrested today in London, three days after escaping from a prison, the British capital’s police announced.
“Metropolitan Police officers have arrested Daniel Jalife, who escaped from Wandsworth prison on September 6,” the police force announced on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter.
The news was celebrated by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, from the G20 summit taking place in India.
Before British television networks, the British premier thanked the Police for their “great work” and the “public for their help,” the AFP news agency reported.
Jalife was arrested shortly before 11 a.m. (7 Argentine time) in west London, where his presence had been reported, and is in custody, Scotland Yard headquarters reported.
According to investigators, he would have escaped by hooking himself with straps to a delivery truck from the kitchen of Wandsworth prison, in the southwest of London and one of the largest penitentiary centers in the entire British territory.
Jalife, 21, who is awaiting trial, is accused of crimes committed between January and August 2021 at a Royal Air Force base in Strafford, central England.
The former member of the Royal Signals corps is suspected of gathering information that could have been used by extremist organizations or enemies of the United Kingdom, facts he denied, and according to several media outlets, including the BBC, he is also suspected of acting in favor of Iran.
Source: Ambito