Nabbed: Japan jail escapee who sparked manhunt involving 15,000 policemen
30 April 2018 5:49 PM GMT
TOKYO, JAPAN: A thief who fled an open jail in Japan sparking a high-profile manhunt involving some 15,000 officers was taken into custody on Monday, police said, more than three weeks after his escape.
Tatsuma Hirao, 27, a "model" inmate who was serving time for multiple thefts, was arrested on a street near Hiroshima railway station in western Japan, a local police spokesman said.
He was captured some 70 kilometres (40 miles) west of Mukaishima island, where police had deployed helicopters, drones, police dogs and infrared detectors to find him.
Hundreds of officers a day were sent to the island for the manhunt with the total number reportedly reaching around 15,000 since early April, local media said.
Hirao told investigators that he escaped from the island by swimming across the sea, according to public broadcaster NHK. Television footage showed Hirao, who was unshaven and wearing a black shirt, taken by several police officers to a police vehicle.
The case has made headline news in Japan with TV channels picking over the manhunt in minute detail.
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