Gambiaj.com – (BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau) – A convicted life prisoner who dramatically escaped from Gambia’s maximum-security Mile 2 Central Prison has been apprehended in Guinea-Bissau, following a cross-border manhunt that activated alert mechanisms across multiple countries in the West African sub-region.
Baboucarr Mankabou, 47, a native of Guinea-Bissau, was arrested last week in Bissau by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ), Guinea-Bissau’s Judicial Police, after he was tracked down through a tip-off and intensive investigative work conducted in coordination with regional police cooperation mechanisms.
Mankabou had been serving a life sentence at Mile 2 Central Prison in Gambia after being convicted of extremely serious violent crimes, including armed robbery, kidnapping, and rape. He was shot in the legs during an earlier arrest and is reported to be physically disabled as a result.
His escape from the high-security facility had prompted Gambian authorities to issue an international arrest warrant, classifying him as a highly dangerous fugitive and triggering urgent search operations in several countries across the sub-region.
A Fugitive Who Crossed Borders
The Polícia Judiciária, whose account of the arrest was confirmed to The Gambia Journal through the Guinean PJ, confirmed that Mankabou had been on the run following his breakout from Mile 2, a prison widely regarded as one of the most fortified detention facilities in the Gambia.
“Within the context of international police cooperation, the detainee was considered by Gambian authorities to be a highly dangerous individual, and his escape triggered alert mechanisms and search efforts in several countries in the sub-region,” said the PJ source.
The operation that ultimately led to his identification, location, and capture was described as the product of sustained criminal investigation work by the Guinean Judicial Police, carried out in close coordination with regional security cooperation frameworks.
Significance Beyond One Arrest
Authorities in Guinea-Bissau were unequivocal in underlining the broader significance of the operation, describing it as a demonstration of their institution’s resolve and operational effectiveness in tackling transnational organized crime.
“This arrest is yet another demonstration of the operational capacity of the Judicial Police in combating transnational organized crime and reaffirms the institution’s firm commitment to actively cooperating with similar services in the region and international partners in the prevention and repression of crime, as well as in strengthening collective security,” the PJ source emphasized.
The arrest is expected to facilitate Mankabou’s extradition back to the Gambia, where he remains a convicted prisoner with an outstanding life sentence to serve.
Mile 2 Under Scrutiny
The escape of a life-sentenced prisoner, disabled and convicted of some of the most violent crimes in the Gambian penal code, has raised serious questions about security protocols at Mile 2 Central Prison.
Many people asked how a physically disabled inmate managed to breach the perimeter of what is officially designated a high-security facility.
Recently, the prison authority clarified that the fugitive was aided by a prison warden who has been since arrested.
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