The Guardia Civil has intensified border security in southern Galicia as authorities search for five dangerous prisoners who escaped from a high-security prison north of Lisbon. Patrols along the Pontevedra and Ourense borders with Portugal have been provided with the identities and photographs of the fugitives. These are considered extremely dangerous and capable of using lethal force to avoid capture.
The five escapees—Fernando Ribeiro Ferreira (61), Rodolf José Lohrmann (59), Mark Cameron Roscaleer (39), Fábio Fernandes Santos Loureiro (40), and Shergili Farjiani (33)—have been on the run since Saturday. The prison break has triggered alarm in Portugal, given the high-security nature of the facility and the violent history of the escapees. Portuguese authorities believe the fugitives had external help, although those individuals remain unidentified.
Spanish authorities were alerted to the escape through the Hispano-Portuguese Centres for Police and Customs Cooperation (CCPA), with the Galicia centre located in Tui and Valença. Alerts were also sent to other Spanish provinces bordering Portugal, including Badajoz, Salamanca, Huelva, and Zamora, in case the fugitives attempt to flee the country through those areas.
A security breach in Portugal
The escape has raised serious concerns in Portugal regarding prison security. Rui Abrunhosa, the Director General of Prison Services, acknowledged the failure, admitting that it was a “serious breach” of security. The Vale de Judeus prison, which houses 507 inmates, had only 33 of its 50 guard posts manned at the time of the escape. Moreover, the facility’s electrified fence had been permanently deactivated, and the prison had been operating without a director for four months.
The most dangerous fugitive, Rodolfo Lohrmann, an Argentine criminal, had been transferred to this facility from an even higher-security prison. Despite previous escape attempts, four of the fugitives were housed in adjoining cells with access to both phones and the internet.
An organised escape
Portuguese police, including the Polícia Judiciária and the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR), are heavily involved in the search, but they acknowledge the challenge of locating the fugitives, especially as the escapees are believed to have support from organised crime. This network may provide them with money, safe houses, transport, and even potential routes to leave Portugal, either through land or by sea.
The Portuguese Justice Minister, Rita Alarcão, is expected to address the situation soon. As the search intensifies, authorities are calling for public assistance in locating the fugitives, while investigating how such a significant security failure could occur at one of Portugal’s most secure prisons.