Police have offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of an "extremely dangerous" murder suspect who escaped after his prison van was ambushed.
John Anslow, who is now at the centre of an international manhunt, escaped after a gang of three masked men stopped the prison van.
They smashed its windows with sledgehammers and punched the driver who was taking inmates from Hewell Prison in Redditch, Worcestershire, to Stafford Crown Court on Monday morning.
Detective Superintendent Martin Evans, from Staffordshire Police, said: "We're hoping that this sizeable reward will encourage those who know where Anslow might be to come forward. All calls will be treated in the strictest confidence."
Overnight, officers searched five properties in the Tipton area of the West Midlands, where Anslow comes from, and arrested a man in connection with the escape.
DS Evans said: "Last night, search warrants were executed at five homes in the West Midlands area. We've recovered some property following these searches and this now being further examined.
"We also arrested a 44-year-old man from the Tipton area last night on suspicion of assisting an offender. He remains in police custody today and is being interviewed."
Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke has ordered an inquiry into how Anslow was sprung from custody.
His security status was upgraded last week after he was charged with the murder of businessman Richard Deakin.
But instead of being transferred in a high-security prison service van with a police escort Anslow was with other inmates in a vehicle run by a private contractor.
Police appealled for any witnesses who saw either of the cars used by Anslow and those who helped him escape.
DS Evans said: "Following yesterday's appeal, we're looking into several calls which came into to our incident room about possible sightings of the silver Mercedes car used by Anslow and his associates.
"We're also very keen to speak to anyone who might have seen the silver Volkswagen Scirocco in the wider Bromsgrove or North Worcestershire area prior to the incident at 8.20am yesterday.
"The Scirocco was abandoned a short distance from the scene before the offenders switched to the Mercedes."
Anslow is the first Category A prisoner to escape from custody in more than 17 years.
Detectives have said the raid was well planned and well executed. They suggested it may have been planned before Anslow had been formally charged by the police.
Anslow, who is also known as Skitz, is said to have connections across the country and overseas.
Officers are working with police forces nationwide, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and authorities abroad. All airports and railway stations have been alerted.
Anslow is described as white, 5ft 10in tall, of medium build, with short, straight, dark brown hair.
No comments:
Post a Comment