Authorities mistakenly freed Brahim Kaddour Cherif, a 24 year old Algerian convicted of sex offenses, from HMP Wandsworth in south London. A clerical error amid the pressures inflicted upon the prison system resulted in this unfortunate mistake.
Public concerns about safety arose in the wake of this incident. Kaddour Cherif had prior offenses for indecent exposure and theft. He also illegally overstayed his visa and was facing deportation. Therefore, officials believed he should have been held in custody.
The Manhunt Begins
After the discovery of the error, police initiated a nine day manhunt. They made a public appeal and sought any kind of information. Kaddour Cherif was free in north London while that was ongoing.
Nonetheless, an unknown member of the public saw him first. This individual directly contacted the authorities. In turn, police were able to converge on Islington.
The Dramatic Arrest
Officers arrested Kaddour Cherif in Islington on November 7, 2025. He was clad in a green tracksuit, a beanie hat, and glasses. He at first denied his identity, claiming that the suspect had fled on a bicycle.
The police’s details were confirmed when they received identification images via smartphone from news articles. Furthermore, his recognizably bent nose fitted the description. As he was being cuffed, he screamed, declaring that the release was not his fault.
Following that, he was placed into a police van. He is now back in custody awaiting further processing.
Wider Implications
This incident came in the wake of yet another sex offender’s erroneous release and retrieval by police in the same vicinity, Hadush Kebatu. Four other wrongly released prisoners remain at large, in fact, England and Wales experienced 262 of such mistakes in the year to March 2025.
Another offender, the fraudster Billy Smith, has since turned himself in. So, now there are questions surrounding prison procedures. The authorities are conducting inquiries to ascertain how to prevent it from happening again.
