At the prison in Zutphen, Gelderland, henchmen tried to free Omar Lkhorf, who is serving a life sentence, on Sunday afternoon . That failed. Four men have been arrested who may be involved in the escape attempt.
The police arrested four men on Sunday afternoon after a wild chase on the N813 near Wehl in Gelderland. A warning shot was released.
It is unclear how the men wanted to free Lkhorf. "We are currently investigating this and we cannot make any announcements," said the police spokesperson.
On the grounds of the prison in Zutphen, a van was on fire around 10.50 on Sunday morning. After the outbreak of the fire, heavily armed agents with bullet-proof vests immediately walked around.
The ministry spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice and Security could not tell how the burning van near the prison in Zutphen was part of the escape attempt.
Lkhorf is linked to the group around Benaouf A., who in vain tried to escape by helicopter from the prison in Roermond in 2017. The Amsterdam criminal was rushed early last year from the prison in Krimpen aan den IJssel to that in Zutphen because there were plans to kill him within the prison walls.
According to current legislation, prisoners trying to escape are not punishable. The government believes that this cannot be explained and is working on a legislative amendment that will make it possible to punish these detainees.