8th September, 2023
The London Metropolitan Police has offered a £20,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of Daniel Abed Khalife, a terror suspect who escaped from Wandsworth Prison on Wednesday.
The increased reward was announced as detectives investigate a sighting of him near Wandsworth Roundabout.
Khalife escaped from Wandsworth Prison on Wednesday morning. The search for him is being handles by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.
More than 150 of the Met’s counter terrorism officers and staff, with support from colleagues across the Met and in other forces, have been working around the clock, making extensive enquiries to find Khalife.
Detectives have received information from a member of the public who said they saw a man fitting Khalife’s description walking away from a BidFood van that had stopped near the south entrance to the Wandsworth Roundabout, at the top of Trinity Road, shortly after his escape.
The man was then seen walking towards Wandsworth town centre.
This is one of several key lines of enquiry that officers are pursuing.
A reward of up to £20,000 is now being offered for information which leads directly to the arrest of Khalife.
To report a live sighting of Khalife, or information which is urgent, please call 999, police said.
Alternatively, anyone with information which might assist the ongoing enquiry can call police on 101.
The police said they have also opened their UK Image Appeal website which allows people to submit any relevant imagery and video directly to the investigation team.
This could be CCTV, doorbell footage, mobile phone footage, or dash-cam footage.
Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “This remains a fast-paced and dynamic investigation, but I want the public to know that a large number of officers are working extremely hard to locate Khalife.
“We have now received more than 100 calls from the public, and we thank everyone who has contacted us with information.
“The sighting near Wandsworth Roundabout could be very significant, and this is one of many useful lines of enquiry that officers are perusing.
“We continue to urge the public to contact us straight away if they think they have seen Khalife or have information on his whereabouts.
“We will continue to work closely with all our colleagues in police services across the country and other partners to trace Khalife and bring him back into custody.”
Former soldier Khalife, 21, was declared missing at 07:50hrs on 6 September. He was believed to have strapped himself underneath a delivery van.
The Met was notified at 08:15hrs and took immediate action to track down the delivery van that had left the prison.
At 08:37, police officers stopped the van in Upper Richmond Road, near the junction with Carlton Drive. Officers spoke to the driver and carried out a thorough search.
Police discovered strapping on the underside of the van.