24 Hours in Police Custody: What happened to the detainees who escaped from Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre?
IN April 2023, a large group of men escaped from an immigration centre near Bedford which prompted a nationwide manhunt.
The shocking crime ended in a series of arrests across England and will be examined in the Channel 4 documentary 24 Hours in Police Custody: Breakout.
A nationwide search
The detainees’ escape from Yarl’s Wood detention centre, Bedfordshire began in the facility’s gymnasium when a protest by the inmates spiraled out of control.
After driving staff out of the room, the inmates covered up the building’s security cameras and seized some gym equipment.
They used the equipment to aid them in their escape, which saw them scale the compound’s fence.
Most of the detainees were apprehended on the same night of their escape, but several managed to get away.
Det Supt Will Hodgkinson co-ordinated Bedfordshire Police’s nationwide manhunt.
When talking about the search for the missing inmates, he said:
“I’ve never known [a search] on this scale against eight individuals.”
“Of all the individuals involved, I don’t think anyone has encountered a challenge quite as large as this.”
Sweeping arrests
Mariglen Coha was one of the first men apprehended following the breakout.
Police discovered him at an address in Huddersfield, where he had been arrested previously.
Det Supt Will Hodgkinson said that Coha had returned to the address “because it was what he knew” and said that his capture was “relatively simple”.
Two other suspects named Rizah Koka and Mexhit Palushi were tracked to a coffee shop in Bedfordshire.
They were found to be in possession of keys for an address containing cocaine worth £50,000 and cannabis worth £63,000.
During the search of the house, Samuel Boka, another one of the inmates, returned to the address and was arrested.
Enea Shima was arrested in London.
The remaining escapees, Thanas Bizhoti, Luftim Hallaci and Arnold Lleshaj all turned themselves in at police stations across England.
Facing justice
All eight men pleaded guilty to escaping lawful custody and were convicted.
Palushi was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for being in possession of criminal property, as well as being concerned with the supply of cannabis and cocaine.
Koka was given a five-year sentence and Boka was jailed for four years.
Bodini, Hallaci, and Morati were jailed for eight months, whereas Bizhoti and Coha were handed seven-month sentences.
Shima received the shortest sentence of six months in prison.
24 Hours in Police Custody: Breakout
In the Channel 4 documentary 24 Hours in Police Custody: Breakout, experts will be weighing in on the detainees’ shocking escape and recapture.
The episode will air on January 6, 2025, at 9pm.
If viewers miss the show being broadcast, the episode will be available to stream on Channel 4’s online streaming service.
The Yarl's Wood Detention Centre breakout
In April 2023, inmates staged a mass breakout at the Yarl's Wood Detention Centre.
Although most were recaptured almost immediately, some managed to make it all the way to London before being re-apprehended.
Here are all of the prison sentences for the inmates who escaped for the longest amount of time:
Mexhit Palushi – Five years and three months in prison
Rizah Koka – Five years in prison
Samuel Boka – Four years in prison
Arnold Lleshaj – 22 months in prison
Luftim Hallaci -Eight months in prison
Bilbil Bodini – Eight months in prison
Mariglen Coha – Seven months in prison
Thanas Bizhoti – Seven months in prison
Enea Shima – Six months in prison