Mistakenly launched prisoner William Smith seen handing himself in 3 days after error
A prisoner who was accidentally freed from jail has been seen handing himself into prison just three days after the major error.
William “Billy” Smith, 35, has been detained by cops after being wrongly released from HMP Wandsworth this week.
Smith was being hunted by Surrey Police, who say he was let out of HMP Wandsworth in error on Monday (November 3).
It comes after prisons are under-fire after it was revealed a second person called Brahim Kaddour Cherif, 24, last Wednesday (October 29).
The force said Smith, who goes by the name Billy, appeared in court via video link from the prison before being released in error.
(Image: Jeremy Selwyn)
They are now the second force to launch a manhunt for an inmate wrongly released from the prison in South-West London.
The Met Police confirmed yesterday it was still looking to find Cherif.
A Met spokesman said: “He is also known to use other variations of his name, including Ibrahim. He is believed to have links to Tower Hamlets and is also known to frequent the Westminster area. We are aware of reporting that Cherif is a registered sex offender and can confirm that is accurate.”
Commander Paul Trevers, who is overseeing the investigation, said: “It is just over 24 hours since we were informed of Cherif’s release. We launched an immediate manhunt and urgent enquiries have been ongoing since.
“Cherif has had a six-day head start but we are working urgently to close the gap and establish his whereabouts. We will continue to use all the means at our disposal but we are also appealing for the public’s help to find him.
“We have seen in the very recent past how important alert members of the public reporting sightings can be. To assist with that effort we have released an image of Cherif and bodyworn video footage from an arrest in September this year.”
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