Escaped prisoner who swapped places with twin is recaptured in Peru

A prisoner who mounted an extraordinary escape from Peruvian jail by swapping places with his visiting twin brother has been recaptured.

The arrest of Alexander Jheferson Delgado Herrera marks the end of more than a year on the run from authorities.

He had been serving a 16-year sentence for child sexual abuse and robbery when his twin brother Giancarlo visited in January last year.

Alexander Delgado Herrera allegedly drugged Giancarlo and changed into his clothes before walking out of the prison, the BBC reported. Amid uncertainty about exactly what occurred, Giancarlo was initially investigated for aiding his brother, but prosecutors eventually dropped charges against him, El País reported.

This week saw a breakthrough in the search for the fugitive.

“Today there was the recapture of a violator who on 10 January 2017 fled Piedras Gordas when he was supplanted by his brother,” the interior ministry said in a statement.

“This relative was in detention in place of him, but today Delgado Herrera has been arrested.”

Authorities had been monitoring Delgado Herrera for several months and located him at the front of a building in the seaside district of Callao, the ministry said. He tried to escape when he saw agents from the National Police of Peru but was soon captured.

Delgado Herrera claimed he had come up with the dramatic escape plan because he wanted to see his mother, local media outlet Diario Correo reported.

The interior ministry had offered a reward of 20,000 Peruvian Sol (US$6,127/£4,401) for information that would lead to his capture. He was apparently also known by an alias, Vaporito.

Authorities had previously been stunned by his escape. “It’s unbelievable – in 12 years nobody had escaped from Ancón I,” said a former justice minister, Marisol Pérez Tello.