Chinese drug trafficker on death row in Indonesia escapes from prison through sewers

Cai Changpan was sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking 135kg (298lb) of crystal meth to Indonesia

He dug a hole from his prison cell into waste pipes and on to a road outside in Jakarta’s Tangerang area. He is now on Indonesia’s most wanted list

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Prison officers check the culvert used by a Chinese prisoner to escape by digging a 30-metre tunnel under the prison walls in Tangerang, Banten province. Photo: – AFP

Published: 11:16pm, 21 Sep 2020Updated: 4:17pm, 15 Apr 2021

A Chinese drug trafficker under a death sentence escaped from jail on the outskirts of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta by tunnelling through the sewage system, police said on Monday.

Cai Changpan, 37, who was convicted of methamphetamine smuggling, dug a hole from his cell at the prison in the Tangerang area into waste pipes and on to a road outside, Jakarta police spokesman Yusri Yunus told reporters.

According to a cell mate, he had planned the September 14 escape for five to six months using tools from a construction project in the prison kitchen, Yunus said.

Indonesia Directorate General of Prisons spokeswoman Rika Aprianti told media the trafficker, who also uses the name Cai Ji Fan, had timed his escape to the changing of the guards.

According to Indonesian news website detik.com, he was sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking 135kg (298lb) of crystal methamphetamine.

A police investigation found 70kg (154lb) of meth hidden in chicken coop cleaner equipment.