Venezuelan Prisoners Dreaming of Shawshank Escape... The Wall They Broke Through Led Straight to the Police Station

Group Prison Break Attempt at Venezuelan Jail
Absurdly Caught by Police After Getting Stuck in Wall

Prisoners who tried to break through the walls of a prison and escape into the outside world, like the protagonist of the movie 'The Shawshank Redemption,' made similar efforts but ended up in vain. In a bizarre story, inmates incarcerated in a Venezuelan prison attempted a mass escape by breaking through the walls of the detention center but were caught by police officers who were conducting a workshop outside the wall.

A prison escapee being pulled out of a hole by the police.
Photo by Daily Mail

On the 24th, major foreign media reported that around 8:30 a.m. on the 17th, 20 inmates at a prison in Maracaibo, Venezuela, conspired and attempted to escape through a tunnel secretly made inside the prison. The escapees, who were crawling out one by one through a narrow tunnel barely wide enough for an adult male, were absurdly caught after reaching the exit. This happened because they were unaware that there was a room used by police officers at the tunnel’s exit leading outside the prison.

A prison escapee being pulled out of a hole by the police.
Photo by Daily Mail

As a result, the police arrested all the escapees coming out of the passage. Fortunately, since the hole was small and quick escape was difficult, the police were able to control the situation. Videos taken at the scene show escapees dressed in yellow clothes being helped out of the hole by police officers. Some escapees got stuck in the hole and received assistance from the officers. Most of the police officers watching this scene are seen smiling as they look at the escapees.

The police station involved announced that they have taken measures to strengthen the security of the detention facility to prevent future escape attempts. A police official stated, "Since we could not confirm whether the inmates were armed, we judged that rushing into the detention center with guns could cause a bigger disturbance, so we subdued the inmates one by one as they came out," adding, "We will further strengthen surveillance of the detention center to prevent recurrence of such incidents."