A convicted sex offender, Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, has been re-arrested following a mistaken release from Wandsworth Prison in south London. Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was accidentally freed on October 29, 2023, prompting a manhunt by the Metropolitan Police that lasted for six days.
The police reported that Kaddour-Cherif was apprehended in Islington on November 4, 2023, after a search was launched due to the unexpected nature of his release. Officials expressed frustration that they only received notification of the error a week after Kaddour-Cherif had been freed, giving him a significant lead during the search.
Kaddour-Cherif, originally from Algeria, had been serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal at the time of his release. He has a history of criminal activity, including a conviction for indecent exposure in November 2024, which resulted in an 18-month community order and a five-year registration on the sex offender list.
Despite being identified as an overstayer five years ago, Kaddour-Cherif had not been deported from the UK. He entered the country on a visitor visa in 2019 and was flagged for overstaying on February 6, 2020. It is reported that he had not applied for asylum and was in the initial stages of deportation when he was mistakenly released.
Authorities noted that Kaddour-Cherif uses variations of his name, including Ibrahim, and has established connections in areas such as Westminster and Tower Hamlets. The incident raises concerns about procedural oversights in the handling of individuals with complex immigration and criminal histories.
The Metropolitan Police have yet to release further details regarding the protocols that allowed for this oversight, but the re-arrest marks a significant development in a case that has drawn public attention to issues of crime and immigration enforcement in the UK.
