An Algerian man who was mistakenly released from prison in London has been arrested. The search for him began only after a week.
London police arrested Algerian citizen Brahim Kaddour-Chérif, accused of exhibitionism and other crimes. He should have been in prison, but was released due to a bureaucratic error related to his multiple convictions.
British law enforcement authorities have thus managed to return to prison two inmates who were mistakenly released in recent days from Wandsworth prison in south-west London.
Earlier this week, a clerical error also led to the release of 35-year-old British man William Smith, who was convicted of fraud and sentenced to nearly four years in prison. After journalists reported the error, Smith voluntarily returned to prison three days after his release.
24-year-old Brahim Kaddour-Chérif was mistakenly released from Wandsworth prison on October 29.
Kaddour-Chérif entered the UK legally in 2019 but remained in the country after his visa expired. It is reported that immigration service officials began an investigation into this matter in 2020.
According to court documents, this individual has been involved in 11 criminal cases since September 2023.
In March 2024, he was convicted for exhibitionism. For this offense, he received an 18-month community service order and was placed on the sex offenders register for five years.
Kaddour-Chérif also admitted to assaulting a police officer and possessing cocaine in March 2024.
The day before his release, the court found that Kaddour-Chérif had not violated the conditions of his placement on the sex offenders register. Although other charges against the Algerian citizen remained and he should have remained in custody, no court order was issued for his arrest. The next day he was released.
He pleaded guilty to assaulting a person in a public place and was conditionally discharged with an order to pay the victim £100 ($132).
Court data shows that by June 2025, Kaddour-Chérif was being held at the Colnbrook immigration detention centre near Heathrow Airport.
According to Metropolitan Police information, Kaddour-Chérif was arrested again on September 9, 2025, after officers discovered he was wanted on a warrant for failing to appear in court for breaching the conditions of his conditional release and the requirements related to his registration on the sex offenders register.
Although he was accidentally released from prison on October 29, the police were notified about it only six days later.
How was he caught?
According to the Metropolitan Police, Kaddour-Chérif was spotted and identified on Blackstock Road in north London at 11:23 AM local time on November 7, 14 km from the prison.
A man who identified him called the police, who responded immediately and arrested the criminal.
