Taulant Toma, 41, convicted of robbery and theft with a sentence until 2048, has escaped again from the maximum security prison in Opera, Milan. Known for his "spectacular" escapes, he was able to leave a penitentiary institution for the fourth time.
According to preliminary data, the escape took place during the night between December 6 and 7. Taulant is suspected of having cut the bars of the cell window and then lowered himself from the building using sheets tied between them. It is still unclear how he managed to overcome the prison's perimeter wall, which is about 6 meters high, and whether or not he had external collaborators.
Gennarino De Fazio, general secretary of the penitentiary police union UILPA, has stressed that the situation in Opera prison is extremely difficult:
"There are 1,338 prisoners inside the institution for only 918 available places, an overcrowding of 153%. The entire system is managed by 533 officers, while at least 811 would be needed."
Taulant's previous escapes
2009 – escape from Terni prison.
2013 (February) – escape from the high-security prison in Parma, together with citizen Frokaj Vamenti, who was later killed during a robbery at a villa. 2013 (September) – arrested in Belgium and sent to Latin prison, near Liège.
2013 (December) – escapes again from Belgian prison.
Currently, Italian police have launched a wide-ranging search for his capture.
