Hospital escape in Serres: 41-year-old Albanian detainee escaped with Kalashnikov
Four armed men disguised as police officers disarmed guards and freed a long-sentence prisoner from Serres Hospital at midnight on Friday.
Armed men disguised as police disarmed guards and abducted detainee from Serres Hospital
The Hellenic Police launched a manhunt to locate a 41-year-old Albanian long-sentence prisoner who escaped from Serres Hospital at midnight on Friday, 11 September. According to ERT News, four armed associates, disguised as police officers and wearing hoods, emerged from two vehicles with flashing lights, disarmed the escorts and fled together with the detainee.
Earlier that evening, three detainees from Nigrita Prison had been transferred to the hospital, accompanied by five members of the external guard unit. The 41-year-old had reported feeling unwell prior to the transfer. The prisoner transport vehicle was parked in the forecourt, outside the psychiatric clinic. There, the perpetrators, brandishing a Kalashnikov, threatened the guards and released the detainee.
"They had a car that looked like a police vehicle with a flashing light and were dressed as police officers," an eyewitness to the escape stated to ERT News.
During the incident, a second detainee attempted to escape from the transport vehicle, but the perpetrators prevented him, according to police sources. The third detainee had already been taken inside the hospital.
Police officers later located one of the vehicles believed to have been used by the perpetrators at a short distance from the hospital. The vehicle was involved in a traffic accident during the escape, with one occupant reportedly sustaining a head injury. A Kalashnikov and ammunition were found inside the vehicle, which were seized for examination and identification of the perpetrators.
Subsequently, police located a burnt-out vehicle in Vrasna, in the municipality of Volvi, which is being examined to determine if it is connected to the case. According to reports, the perpetrators used a regional road connecting Nigrita with Asprovalta and at 6:00 am, just outside Vrasna, abandoned the SUV-type vehicle and set it on fire.
The Hellenic Police's press spokesperson, Konstantia Dimoglídou, stated in a television interview that the escapee "was imprisoned in 2025 for an incident that occurred in Pylaia in 2024". He is accused of attempted murder against a 25-year-old outside a canteen in the Pylaia area of Thessaloniki, and was arrested last September alongside two compatriots. Dimoglídou added that "proceedings are underway to file charges for the escape of a detainee". The 41-year-old is a member of a criminal organisation that operates in the importation and distribution of drugs.
The Hellenic Police have set up checkpoints and are conducting searches at possible escape routes to locate the escapee and his associates.
Source: ERT