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FUGITIVE SNARED
Dramatic moment cops arrest escaped ‘terrorist’ Daniel Khalife with bike & sleeping bag by canal 4 days after jailbreak
THIS is the dramatic moment fugitive terror suspect Daniel Khalife was captured by undercover police.
Video footage obtained by The Sun showed former soldier Khalife being held by cops this morning in west London, with a bike and sleeping bag nearby.
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The 21-year-old fled HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday morning after hiding under a food delivery van.
A massive four-day police manhunt came to an end shortly before 11am today as cops descended on a canal in Northolt, west London.
He was found with a bike, a sleeping bag and a Waitrose cool bag of groceries when plain-clothes cops swooped, before forensics officers attended to scour the scene.
Eyewitness Ethan Andrews was on his way to a nearby gym when he spotted the officers holding down a suspect beside a Grand Union Canal bridge.
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The 20-year-old Bath University student, from west London, told The Sun: "I was crossing over the bridge and saw this man with cable ties around his hands.
"One of the cops said, 'We're undercover officers.'
The guy had been on a bike and had a sleeping bag - he seemed to have a change of clothes.
Ethan Andrews
"I keep up with the news and I recognised him and said, 'Is that the guy who was in prison?', and one officer said, 'yes'.
"I pulled my phone out and started filming. The police told me not to but how often am I going to see something like this again?
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"The three officers had him on the floor and then five minutes later there were loads more police on the scene - some from the Territorial Support Group too.
"The guy had been on a bike and had a sleeping bag - he seemed to have a change of clothes."
FUGITIVE SNARED
The Metropolitan Police today confirmed Khalife had been caught.
Scotland Yard said in a statement: "Metropolitan Police officers have arrested Daniel Khalife, who escaped from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday 6 September.
"Officers apprehended him just before 11am today, in the Chiswick area, and he is currently in police custody.
"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."
And this afternoon they revealed he was pulled off a bike by plain-clothes police who finally caught up with him.
Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Met's counter terrorism command, said Khalife was "fully co-operative" with officers when detained.
The suspect was taken into custody at a west London police station.
Cdr Murphy said Khalife would "still stand trial for original offences".
Rishi Sunak said he was "very pleased" Khalife had been arrested, while praising efforts by the police and the public to find him.
He said: "This is obviously very welcome news. And again, my thanks to the police but also to the public for their help."
Did YOU see Daniel Khalife get arrested? Email [email protected] or call 07423 720250
Khalife is believed to have hidden under a food delivery truck when making his escape while working in the prison kitchen on Wednesday morning.
He fled in a chef's uniform of white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown steel toecap boots.
The terror suspect is said to have used makeshift straps to fix himself to the truck as it was waved out of the jail.
Scotland Yard offered a £20,000 reward for information helping to track him down.
Holiday-makers suffered travel disruption as extra security checks were imposed at ports and airports in the hunt for Khalife.
A member of the public reported seeing a man resembling the terror suspect walking away from a BidFood delivery van as it stopped near the Wandsworth roundabout, at the top of Trinity Road.
He was then spotted walking towards Wandsworth town centre.
Cdr Murphy had urged Khalife to give himself up.
Mr Murphy said: "My message to him is to hand yourself in, either call us or go to a local police station and hand yourself in.
"With the reward we are offering today and the amazing support we have had from the public and the media, we will be closing in on you, Daniel, you really need to come in and give yourself up."
The former soldier is accused of planting fake bombs at a UK military base.
He reportedly tried to make a previous bid for freedom, but then secured a cushy job in the prison kitchen.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk announced a probe into the prison when he addressed the House of Commons.
Khalife, attached to the Royal Signal Corps before being discharged, was accused of leaving fake bombs at an RAF base in January.
He disappeared for more than three weeks after the bomb hoax before his arrest on January 26.
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Another charge, under the Official Secrets Act, alleges he collected personal information about troops that could be useful to an enemy, from a Ministry of Defence computer system.
He was being held on remand at Wandsworth prison, scheduled to stand trial on November 20.
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