The French authorities are alert following a major and very unusual escape by a prisoner who went inside his cellmate laundry bag when the latter was being released from jail.
The incident, which was reported by CNN, BBC, and CBS News occurred at the Lyon-Corbas Prison, which is outside Lyon in southeast France.
Its bold escape occurred on a Friday, July 11, and the prison authorities only knew that the detainee was away only the following day, which led to a desperate manhunt that swept the area.
The Way the Escape Occurred
France prison administration head, Sebastian Cauwel said to local media house BFMTV that the escaping inmate is a 20-year old who had multiple sentences. It is indicated that the man used the release of his cellmate as an excellent cover to escape prison.
When his cellmate was about to go on leaving after serving his time, the escapee had sneaked into the laundry bag of the cellmate without arousing the cellmate any suspicion.
As the cellmate entered the prison gates, the fugitive went out of them and basically walked out of jail unnoticed.
It is a very unique thing that we have never experienced in this administration, Cauwel said. It makes quite evident an entire chain of gross miscarriages.
The jail Guards Noticed the Prison Break too Late
It was not until the next morning some 24 hours later that officials noticed the prisoner was missing. By the time they had raised alarm, the inmate had had a lot of head start and even finding him was made more challenging.
Cauwel called the escapade a consequence of a logical progression of mistakes and acknowledged that it was evident that prison procedures were not followed when the cellmate was being released.
Organized Crime Ties
The fact that the prisoner is not only under punishment on minor crimes has made his escape even more urgent as reported. AFP, a French news agency, disclosed that the fugitive is also a target of an investigation over organized crimes.
The escape has been taken more seriously with local police now pursuing the case as a possible organized crime operation investigating the case under suspicions of criminal conspiracy.
Police suspect the prison break may have been well orchestrated with the assistance of people not in prison.
Before Escaping, Concerns were raised over Overcrowding
This outrageous prison break is shedding light to the existing issues at the Lyon-Corbas Prison.
Only a month ago, the Lyon Bar Association has gone public with such concerns over the severe overcrowding experienced in the facility.
The jail that was meant to accommodate a significantly reduced population is seriously overcrowded at a scary rate of 170 percent.
According to Cauwel, that complicates the working conditions of our officers, admitting that the problem is probably understaffing and overcrowding that probably led to the security lapses that resulted in the escape.
National Hunt On
The prisoner is still at large till now, Monday, July 14, and cops all over France have been engaged in a search.
The law enforcers are carrying out surveillance in transport depots, scouting the roads, and searching potential accomplices who could have aided in the escape.
The case has aroused anger in the French people with many wondering how such a guard slip in security can happen in a modern European prison.
One local resident informed BFMTV that, to him, this was stuff out of a movie. One would have thought that with all the security checks and cameras no one could just walk out of prison in a bag.
Political Repercussions and Cries of Reform
The embarrassing breakout is already garnering political pressure.
The lawmakers in France are requesting urgent investigations in to security protocols inside prisons and they want to be informed on how the escape was not detected until now.
The same politicians of the opposition are referring to the Lyon-Corbas case as they have evidence of the decades-long crisis the prison system in France has been experiencing, as it has been overcrowded, underfunded, and understaffed, making the inmates and the guards unsafe.
The justice minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti, will comment on the matter later this week, sources reported that a complete internal inquiry has already been opened.
At this point, however, tracking down the escaped convict is all that matters as he is on his way out to never be seen again.
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