Terror suspect Daniel Khalife has been arrested by police
Terror suspect Daniel Khalife has been arrested, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed.
The arrest comes following a four day manhunt for the suspect after he escaped from HMP Wandsworth on 6 September.
The former soldier is believed to have escaped from the prison by strapping himself to the bottom of a delivery van after disguising himself in a cook's uniform.
Khalife, 21, was arrested just before 11am by police in Chiswick, west London, and is now in police custody.
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Sightings of Khalife had been reported in the area prior to his arrest.
"Officers apprehended him just before 11am today in the #Chiswick area, and he is currently in police custody." the police said.
"We thank the public and media for their support with info & appeals."
They added: “We would like to thank the public and media for their support throughout our investigation to locate Khalife, and we will provide a further update on his arrest in due course.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunk has also praised officers from the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
He told reporters: “I’m very pleased with the news and my thanks to the police officers for their fantastic work over the past couple of days, but also to the public who came forward with an enormous number of leads to help the police in their inquiries."
Armed officers, as well as police dogs, had been seen searching the Chiswick area where Khalifa was believed to have been spotted.
Officers were also seen stopping and checking cars, including searching in car boots and asking residents for proof of their ID.
According to police reports, the suspect had been last seen wearing a white t-shirt with red and white chequered trousers.
The escape sparked a search for Khalife, who has been accused of spying for an enemy state believed to be Iran according to the BBC, as well as plotting a fake bomb hoax.
Khalife has denied all charges.
Prior to his initial arrest in January, Khalife had served in the British Army since 2018, working in the Royal Signals as a computer network engineer.
More than 150 counter-terrorism officers were deployed in the search for Khalife.
With Khalife having known connections to Kingston, areas such as Richmond Park were sealed off from the public as two helicopters hovered over the area using heat-cameras to try and find the suspect.
Airports and ports were also placed on high alert following his escape earlier this week.
Kit Roberts