Laurence Dollimore
A ‘HIGHLY dangerous hitman’ who escaped from prison in Madrid has finally been caught after spending weeks on the run.
Yousef Mohamed Lehrech, 20, slipped out of the Alcala Meco prison during visting hours at around 6pm on December 23 last year.
In a humiliating security lapse, a string of shocking prison errors permitted him to slip out of the jail hidden among a group of departing visitors.
At one point Guardia Civil officers on the perimeter even stopped him as he tried to escape by the vehicle exit, only to redirect him to the pedestrian gate.
Known in the underworld as La Pastilla (the pill), he is due to stand trial for two gangland murders in Cadiz province, including shooting his own boss in the abdomen in Los Barrios in April.
After his prison break, a desperate search by Spanish authorities ensued, but they were unable to track the career criminal down.
It has now emerged that Lehrech had left the country, likely travelling through France and ending up in Germany.
In fact he was arrested at a train station in Leipzig, in the east of the country, after being hunted by German authorities.
It is not yet known how he arrived to Germany or the circumstances surrounding his weeks-long evasion from police.
He is expected to be brought back to Spain.
