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Two convicts described as ‘particularly dangerous’ escape from Avlona Prison

Two convicts described as ‘particularly dangerous’ escape from Avlona Prison

Police have launched a nationwide manhunt after two convicts described as being “particularly dangerous” escaped from Avlona Prison, north of the capital, on Monday night.

The incident took place at 9.40 p.m. on Monday night when the two convicts took advantage of an empty guard post outside the prison's kitchens to jump the fence and make their escape.

A policewoman spotted the two men running away and fired her service revolver in the air, but was punched in the face by one of the convicts and temporarily immobilized.

One of the two convicts, who are both Albanian nationals, has been implicated in the recent murder of a 33-year-old inmate at the capital's high-security Korydallos Prison.

According to reports, the 22-year-old convict had been held at Korydallos before being transferred recently to Avlona, where security is less tight, in order to attend classes.

He is also believed to have ties to the so-called “prison mafia,” a gang of Albanian hitmen for hire run by convict Klodian Lekocaj, believed to be behind the 2017 murder of Athens lawyer Michalis Zafeiropoulos.

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