Liam Wall, 36, was convicted of drug offences at Cardiff Crown court in 2017 and has now escaped from HMP Prescoed in South Wales – police are urging members of the public not to approach him
Police are appealing for help from the public after a prisoner escaped from jail. But they have warned that he should not be approached under any circumstances.
Liam Wall, 36 absconded from HMP Prescoed in South Wales on Sunday, December 14. Wall was convicted of drug offences at Cardiff Crown Court in 2017. Gwent Police is appealing for information to find the escapee, reports Wales Online.
Wall is described as being about 5fy 8″ tall, bald, with brown eyes and a brown beard. Police claim that there may be a potential risk due to the fact that he is no longer in the custody of the prison service.
Police have launched an operational plan to find Wall. A spokesperson for the force said: “Gwent Police has activated its operational plan with the aim of locating Wall and the prison is co-operating fully with us.
“Members of the public are advised not to approach Wall and to instead call police if they see him, or have any information, on 101, quoting 2500396403, you can send a direct message on Facebook or X, or online.”
Wall was one of four members of a drugs gang that were jailed after they posed for photographs with wads of cash and large quantities of cocaine.
At the time of their trial the court heard that Wall was involved in running “the busiest drugs line in Cardiff”. Wall was arrested along with two others while driving a blue BMW on the M4 at Coldra in November 2016, en route from Liverpool where they had gone to purchase more drugs.
During the investigation, police seized around £22,000 worth of drugs, including 2kg of amphetamine.
This escape follows several instances in November where prisoners were mistakenly labelled as “missing” due to erroneous releases. The BBC reported that the number of inmates accidentally let out surged by 128 per cent last year, rising from 115 in 2023-2024 to 262 in the subsequent year.
Such blunders continue to cast doubt on the UK prison system, a concern ignited by the high-profile escape of Daniel Khalife from Wandsworth in 2023. The ex-soldier, imprisoned for spying for Iran, managed to flee the London prison by clinging to the underside of a food delivery van and was only apprehended days later by an undercover officer.
Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons, has previously remarked that such errors are occurring “all the time” in prisons, highlighting the disorder within the system.