Spain arrests fugitives who used ladder to escape prison

Police in Spain have recaptured the last of two fugitives who escaped from a high-security prison in Portugal last year.

British citizen Mark Cameron Roscaleer, 36, and Argentine national Rodolfo Jose Lohrmann, 61, were arrested at a gas station on an industrial estate outside the Spanish coastal town of Alicante.

The pair had been working for local drug dealers and were discovered after making death threats to a victim who reported them to the police.

Investigators were then able to identify a vehicle used by the pair and pounced, with footage showing officers jumping out of several cars and pinning the fugitives to the ground.

"We didn't think they would be together," said judicial police chief Luis Nevez.

Police said they were found with €50,000 ($51,670) in cash. The search also revealed they had firearms and false documents on them.

Authorities suspect them of having committed further crimes in Spain.

How and when did the fugitives escape?

The two were among five inmates who staged a spectacular escape from the Vale de Judeus prison just north of Lisbon in September, scaling a long ladder provided by an outside accomplice during visiting hours.

Two Portuguese nationals and one Georgian were recaptured in the following months, one in Morocco, one in Portugal and the latter in Italy.

But Roscaleer, who had been imprisoned for violent crimes including robbery and torture, and Lohrmann, who was serving a 17-year sentence for a bank robbery and was awaiting extradition to his home country, remained on the run until this week.

"They are very violent people who have kidnappings and murders behind them," said Antonio Martínez Duarte of the Organized Crime Unit, adding: "This operation shows once again that Spain "is not a comfortable place for fugitives."

Spanish police say they recaptured 460 escaped prisoners in 2024 and have detained 55 so far this year.

"There are no borders for crime and there should be none for police cooperation either," they said.