Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was incorrectly discharged from HMP Wandsworth on October 29 and remained at liberty for nine days before his recapture.
A 24-year-old Algerian man who was wrongly released from a London prison has been taken back into custody following a tip from the public.
Kaddour-Cherif was mistakenly freed from HMP Wandsworth in south London at the end of October. Sky News cameras were present when law enforcement officers detained him in Finsbury Park, north London, at approximately 11:30 a.m. on November 7.
When first approached by journalists, the man denied his identity. Shortly afterward, police officers moved in to make the arrest near a police vehicle.
According to one officer at the scene, authorities were able to confirm his identity due to a “distinctive wonky nose.”
During the detention, Kaddour-Cherif could be heard calling out to bystanders. An officer showed a photograph on a mobile phone, comparing it to the detained individual for verification.
When questioned about the reason for his arrest, Kaddour-Cherif stated he didn’t know. Wearing casual clothing including a grey hoodie and black cap, he insisted the error was not his responsibility, placing blame on prison authorities for releasing him incorrectly.
Delayed Notification
The Prison Service did not alert the Metropolitan Police about the mistaken release until six days after it occurred, prompting questions about the delay in communication. A full-scale search operation was subsequently initiated.
A Metropolitan Police representative confirmed: “At 11:23 a.m. on Friday, November 7, we received a call from a member of the public reporting a possible sighting near Capital City College on Blackstock Road in Islington. Officers responded immediately and detained a matching individual at 11:30 a.m.”
The individual was arrested for being unlawfully at large and also faces an additional arrest on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker related to a separate prior incident.
Background
Kaddour-Cherif is a registered sex offender following a November 2023 conviction for indecent exposure relating to an incident the previous March. He received a community order and was placed on the sex offenders register for five years.
He was later imprisoned in June for knife possession.
Authorities indicate that Kaddour-Cherif entered the UK through legal channels and is not an asylum seeker, though he overstayed his visitor visa. Deportation proceedings had been underway prior to his imprisonment.
Pattern of Errors
This incident marks the third mistaken release from HMP Wandsworth within a week. Just five days earlier, another convicted sex offender, Hadush Kebatu, was wrongly freed and was also apprehended in Finsbury Park.
Additionally, William Smith, 35, convicted of fraud, was incorrectly released on November 3 but voluntarily surrendered to authorities on Thursday.
The Prison Service has been notified of Kaddour-Cherif’s return to custody.
