A man has been convicted of assisting Daniel Khalife after he escaped from prison.

A CTP investigation found that Adeel Khan helped Khalife following his escape from HMP Wandsworth on 6 September, 2023.

Khalife went on the run for three days before he was arrested near a canal in Northolt. 

During the investigation, officers discovered that Khalife had not been acting alone. It was uncovered that Khalife was communicating with Khan, whom he had met in prison, via mobile phone and Khan arranged for Khalife to be given £400 in cash.

Khan was interviewed in Wandsworth prison in October 2023 after CTP London officers found his name, prison number and mobile phone number written in a diary Khalife had on him when he was arrested.

After analysis phone data, officers discovered numerous phone calls between Khan and Khalife after the prison escape. Khalife had made calls on phones he had borrowed from the public, before he was able to buy his own phone with the cash that Khan had arranged.

Though the phone was never recovered, Khan was subsequently charged and pleaded guilty to possession of a phone in prison, contrary to Section 40 D(1) of the Prisons Act 1952.

He has since been found guilty following a trial and will be sentenced in September.

A friend of Khan's Imran Chowdhury was also charged with assisting an offender after CTP London officers tracked down CCTV footage that showed Chowdhury and Khalife walking together towards a bank in the Richmond area. Chowdhury withdrew £400 to give to Khalife. Investigators identified that Chowdhury was paid £120 by Khan, via his girlfriend, for doing this.

During his trial, Chowdhury claimed he did not know he was giving money to an escaped prisoner. After a two-week trial, he was found not guilty of assisting an offender.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of CTP London, said: “A huge amount of police resource was used during the manhunt for Daniel Khalife - a man who has now been convicted of espionage and terrorism offences.

“Adeel Khan knowingly helped him to try and evade capture by arranging for him to be given £400 cash, which enabled him to buy a mobile phone and other items that helped extend his time on the run.

“This case demonstrates that anyone who helps a criminal in this way will find themselves arrested and now they are also facing justice.”