Convicted Medellin crime lord “Cesarin” got lost only days after a judge in central Colombia allowed him to leave prison and serve his 20-year sentence at home.
Cesarin’s escape was revealed by the national prison authority INPEC after an inspection of his home on Tuesday, less than a week after being granted the benefit of house arrest.
According to INPEC, the convicted crime lord “was not at the location of his detention.”
Newspaper El Tiempo reported that $250,000 was paid to place a body-double at his home in order to trick authorities into believing the convict was serving due time.
MORE: Medellin crime lord granted house arrest for being parent
The Colombian Chief of Police, General Rodolfo Palomino, vowed his men will arrest the senior commander of the “Oficina de Envigado” crime syndicate.
“We best look for him to make sure he returns to where he belongs, in prison,” the top police official told W Radio.
The decision to grant house arrest was made by Judge Ronald Floriano Escobar, based on the ex-paramilitary member’s need to look after his family despite a previous ruling that denied him such a benefit.
Cesarin was originally captured in 2009 and sentenced to 20 years for murder, conspiracy and possession of illegal firearms. He was the second in command of Medellin’s largest organized crime syndicates, la Oficina de Envigado.
Justice Minister Alfonso Gomez Mendez is to review the decision which allowed a notorious criminal figure to return back home on house arrest.
Sources