Key facts
- Adeel Khan, 32, was found guilty of assisting escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife.
- Khan supplied Khalife with money after his September 2023 escape.
- Khalife was awaiting trial on spying charges and later sentenced to 14 years and three months for spying for Iran.
- Imran Chowdhury, 26, was cleared of the charge of aiding Khalife.
- Khan is scheduled to be sentenced on September 4.
Adeel Khan, 32, has been found guilty of assisting escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife, who was awaiting trial on spying charges. Khalife absconded from HMP Wandsworth in September 2023 by attaching himself to the underside of a food delivery truck. He was later sentenced to 14 years and three months for spying for Iran.
Khan, from Waltham Forest, east London, worked with Khalife in the prison kitchen. The court heard that in the hours and days following Khalife's escape, he made several calls to Khan using borrowed phones. Khan's name, along with prison and personal phone numbers and a Snapchat account, was discovered in a red diary carried by Khalife when he was apprehended.
Prosecutors alleged that Khalife was carrying £200 in cash, which had been withdrawn by Imran Chowdhury, 26, from Chingford, east London. Chowdhury had withdrawn £400 from an ATM in Richmond on the day of the escape. Shortly after Khalife's escape, Khan messaged Chowdhury's then-girlfriend, providing bank details and requesting a £120 transfer. After the money arrived in Chowdhury's account, he and Khalife met in an arrangement Khan had helped facilitate, and Chowdhury then withdrew £400 for Khalife.
After deliberating for over four hours, the jury found Khan guilty but acquitted Chowdhury. Chowdhury's defense argued he was unaware he was dealing with an escaped prisoner, describing Khalife as deceptive. Judge Murray Shanks acknowledged the verdict regarding Chowdhury seemed reasonable, suggesting he "didn't know what the hell was going on." Khan has been remanded into custody and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 4.