Escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife assisted by two friends, jury told

Two friends are accused of helping Daniel Khalife flee HMP Wandsworth in September 2023, a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court has heard. Adeel Khan, 32, and Imran Chowdhury, 26, both pleaded not guilty to assisting the former prison worker in his escape, which involved Khalife tying himself to the underside of a transport truck. The defendants lived roughly a mile apart in east London. Khalife, who triggered a nationwide manhunt after absconding from the London prison, was later sentenced to 14 years and three months for spying for Iran following a 2024 trial. He had already admitted to the escape. Prosecutor Tom Williams described the relationship between Khan and Chowdhury as “important.” He told the court, “The prosecution's lawsuit is that Khan was providing instructions from inside Wandsworth, and that Chowdhury was the antheral connected the ground, providing wealth to a antheral who had escaped from the aforesaid situation that morning.” Williams added, “Khan would person to person fixed cautious thought to who could beryllium trusted with a task similar this - the consequences if it went wrong, oregon if Chowdhury told the incorrect radical astir it, would, you mightiness think, beryllium precise significant.” The link between Khan and the escape emerged from a red diary recovered from Khalife’s possession when he was arrested. The diary contained Khan’s name, the prison’s situation telephone number, his personal mobile number, and his Snapchat account, as shown in photos presented to the court. At the time of his escape, Khalife was carrying about £200 in £20 notes. Prosecutors alleged this sum came from a £400 withdrawal made by Chowdhury at a currency outlet in Richmond, south‑west London. Chowdhury reportedly received £120 for facilitating the transaction, a detail the court heard. Khan and Khalife had regularly worked together in the Wandsworth prison workshop and, according to authorities, “must have known each other well.” In the hours and days after Khalife’s breakout, he contacted Khan several times using phones borrowed from members of the public. The prosecution quoted Khalife as saying, “All Khalife had with him, at this point, was what he had been capable to take with him under a nutrient lorry - and that wasn't going to past him precise long.” Shortly after Khalife left the prison, at approximately 20:41 BST, Khan messaged his then‑girlfriend, Nazish Mahmood, with Chowdhury’s bank details. The message read, “put 120£ successful this ac… delight convey u baby.” That same evening, Khalife called Khan using a phone belonging to a member of the public; they spoke for roughly a minute, the prosecution said. After the £120 appeared in Chowdhury’s Barclays account at 21:55, the two men met at “a meeting that Khan had been instrumental in arranging,” Williams stated. CCTV footage shown in court depicted the pair walking along a Richmond street at 22:38 before entering an alleyway. Khalife was found guilty of spying but cleared of conducting a weapons hoax at the Army barracks where he had served as a soldier. He had previously admitted to escaping from Wandsworth prison. The trial of Khan, who resides in Waltham Forest, and Chowdhury, from Chingford, remains ongoing.