Drug trafficker escapes from Hospital Monte Sinaí in Guayaquil without police custody
Jipson Peñafiel, detained in March for links to Albanian mafia, escaped on 4 October from Hospital Monte Sinaí in Guayaquil and remains at large.
Escape in Guayaquil: drug trafficker leaves through main entrance of Hospital Monte Sinaí
Jipson José Peñafiel Magallanes, 30, identified by the Public Prosecutor's Office as one of the alleged coordinators of a criminal network linked to the Albanian mafia, fled Hospital Monte Sinaí in the north-west of Guayaquil on Saturday, 4 October at 12:55 hours. This is reported by tvazteca.com, based on information from local media outlet Ecuavisa.
Peñafiel had been detained on 12 March in an operation that resulted in 26 arrests against the criminal organisation. Since 1 October he had been admitted to the medical facility due to cerebrovascular disease.
At the time of the escape, the detainee was not under police custody, but in the care of a prison officer from the National Service for Comprehensive Care of Adults Deprived of Liberty and Juvenile Offenders (SNAI). That officer was not in the room when Peñafiel left the hospital, nor did he activate any alert when the prisoner departed. The criminal left through the main entrance undetected.
It was during a subsequent nursing round that staff noticed his absence. Acting commander Soria noted that when inspecting the hospital's access points, a lack of security was evident. The cameras and control points did not prevent the fugitive's departure.
This is not the first incident of this type recorded at the same medical centre. According to 2024 reports, at least six prisoners admitted for medical reasons managed to escape from Hospital Monte Sinaí that year.
The criminal network to which Peñafiel belongs is attributed with more than two tonnes of drugs. Authorities confirmed that the search for him continues to be active, including monitoring his movements on social media. The National Police established the line 1800 DELITO (335486) to receive confidential information about his whereabouts.
Source: Google News EC — Crime