Police are appealing for information to help find the man that has escaped from prison
Police are appealing for help from the public after a prisoner has escaped – but they have warned that he should not be approached under any circumstances.
The inmate absconded from a south Wales prison on Sunday, December 14.
36-year-old Liam Wall, was imprisoned at HMP Prescoed before the escape. Wall was convicted of drug offences at Cardiff Crown court in 2017.
Gwent police is appealing for information to find the escapee. Wall is described as being about five foot eight inches tall, bald, with brown eyes and a brown beard.
Police claim that there may be a potential risk due to the fact that he is no longer in the custody of the prison service. Police have launched an operational plan to find Wall.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Gwent Police has activated its operational plan with the aim of locating Wall and the prison is co-operating fully with us.
“Members of the public are advised not to approach Wall and to instead call police if they see him, or have any information, on 101, quoting 2500396403, you can send a direct message on Facebook or X, or online.”
Liam was one of four members of a drugs gang that were jailed after they posed for photographs with wads of cash and large quantities of cocaine. At the time of their trial the court heard that Wall was involved in running “the busiest drugs line in Cardiff”.
Wall was caught with two others when driving a blue BMW on the M4 at Coldra in November 2016 as they travelled from Liverpool, where they had been to buy more drugs. Throughout the investigation, police recovered around £22,000 worth of drugs, including 2kg of amphetamine.
The escape comes after several prisoners were labelled as “missing” in November due to being released in error. According to the BBC the number of prisoners who have been let out in error rose by 128 per cent last year, increasing from 115 in 2023-2024 to 262 in the following year.
The prison system in the UK continues to be questioned due to such errors, sparked by the high profile case of escapee Daniel Khalife from Wandsworth in 2023. The former soldier was jailed for spying for Iran and escaped from the London prison by clinging to the underside of a food delivery van. It wasn’t until days later that he was caught by a plainclothes officer.
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor has previously commented that mistakes were happening “all the time” in prisons which illustrates the chaos within the system.
