Khaberni -French authorities announced on Monday the recapture of a prisoner who escaped from the Lyon-Corbas prison near Lyon, southeast France, inside his cellmate's suitcase.
The escaped prisoner, 20 years old and named "El Yazid A." - from the French island of Mayotte, part of the Comoros archipelago - was being held on charges of murder in connection with an organized gang and firearms-related crimes, in addition to serving several other sentences.
The prisoner had managed to escape last Friday, July 11, from the prison inside the suitcase of a cellmate who had been released after completing his sentence, and his escape from the overcrowded prison was not discovered until after more than 24 hours, in a case that topped the local news headlines.
According to "Le Parisien" newspaper, the young man managed to flee in a large laundry bag, after his released cellmate asked the prison staff for a cart to transport his large personal belongings to the car that would take him after his release.
However, the escape did not last long, as "BFM TV" reported today, Monday, that the public prosecutor announced the capture of the fugitive in the small town of "Sathonay-Camp" north of Lyon in southern France.
Specialized police forces were sent to track down the man, who was caught while leaving a basement.
The cellmate who transported the suitcase is still at large, and authorities are intensifying their search for him on suspicion of involvement in the escape, while initial reports suggest that the cellmate was not aware of the plan, but investigations are ongoing.
Meanwhile, the French prison administration has opened an internal investigation into the security lapses and pledged to take all appropriate disciplinary measures. The director of the French prison administration, Sebastien Kauwel, described the incident as "a very rare event that we have not seen before in this administration," pointing to "an accumulation of mistakes" and "a series of serious malfunctions" that led to the escape.
An Interpol red notice was issued in the hours following the escape to alert police around the world to locate and arrest the fugitive.
Lyon-Corbas Prison has long suffered from overcrowding and a shortage of staff, issues now under new scrutiny after this event, especially as this unusual escape caused shock in France, where many described it as resembling a scene from a crime movie.
