Dubai: Four inmates have been accused of drilling a hole in the wall of their prison cell, sneaking into the sewage tunnels and using a makeshift ladder to escape from Dubai Central Jail, a court heard on Monday.
The four inmates, a 36-year-old Iraqi and three Iranians, allegedly took turns to dig a hole with an iron bar before sneaking out of their cells into the sewage tunnels in July last year.
The quartet then used a makeshift ladder that they had built earlier from iron pipes and clothes, according to court records, and headed to the emergency exit door located outside the Central Jail.
Using a copied key, the quartet opened the door and used the ladder that they made to climb up the wall and escaped into the desert.
Dubai police chased down the four inmates, who were all arrested in the open desert shortly after their escape.
Prosecutor accused the four defendants of breaking out of prison and causing damages worth Dh16,750 to the facilities at the jail.
The quartet pleaded guilty and confessed to their crimes when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Monday.
“The hole was already there in the wall and we only dug a little more to complete it,” the Iraqi inmate told presiding judge Abdul Halim Hussein.
A police lieutenant testified to prosecutors that the break-out was discovered around 2am.
The inmates had drilled a hole in the wall and absconded, he claimed.
Another lieutenant said to prosecutors that the quartet were apprehended shortly after their escape in an open area in the desert.
“During questioning, the confessed that they had tried to escape and that they had been involved in similar cases earlier,” he testified to prosecutors.
The court will appoint lawyers to defend the suspects when it reconvenes on April 9.
