Lae Police Boss, Anthony Wagambie Jnr has confirmed that there was a jail breakou t at Buimo CS around lunch time yesterday.
Seven remadees made a dash for freedom from within the prison compound as they were moving about during lunch hour.
All seven remadees were in custody for various serious offences, mostly armed robbery. Wagambie says, of the seven, two of the escapees were shot and died of their wounds just beyond the prison compound vicinity whilst they were trying to escape.
Police were alerted and assisted in blocking off escape routes.
“It was quite difficult to identify the escapees as they are remandees and do not wear prison uniforms and not groomed,” says Wagambie.
“They could easily mix in with the public when on the run.” Five suspects are still on the run. Police are working closely with CS to track down the five escapees, along with others who are still at large.
Details of the five escapees will be disseminated after confirmation with the CS Jail Commander. Wagambie says Lae has a lot of outstanding prison escapees still on the run and these are from previous escapes as well this recent one.
“Most escapees tend to escalate the crime situation in the City. Police already have a challenging task in allocating and apprehending suspects, not putting aside the efforts put in compiling Court files,” says Wagambie.
He adds that the escapees on the run tend to threaten and harass victims, complainants and witnesses.
“I will be releasing details of the recent five escapees so that relatives, community leaders can assist in bringing them forward. Lae has been experiencing a generally low level of crime in the last couple of months since organized gangs were busted. Most of the suspects are behind bars at Buino, awaiting Court.