Three Hell’s Angels who escaped from a Canadian prison by helicopter–Canada’s second such helicopter prison escape–received relaxed security benefits in their prison just one day before the escape. The three convicts are the subject of a massive manhunt in the province of Quebec.
The three men–in prison on charges of murder and drug offenses–were not confined to handcuffs when they made their break. Questions have also been raised as to how three men could escape from a prison within the space of a minute by helicopter and remain missing.
Quebec Public Security minister Lise Thériault stated that the suspects had requested a loosening of their imprisonment conditions prior to the escape. The request was handled by an unnamed judge on Friday.
“The judge accepted the prisoners’ request,” Ms. Thériault said. “There will certainly be legitimate questions to ask ourselves about that.”
The helicopter is said to have been able to evade radar easily by flying into mountains nearby Quebec City and right beside the prison. “It wouldn’t take much to hide inside a valley,” said the base manager of a helicopter flight school near the prison, Guy Dupont.
The SQ was largely silent about the search, but a former agent did comment. “If they’re in a forested area, locating them is like finding a needle in a haystack,” stated retired Sûreté du Québec lieutenant François Doré. “They could be in a chalet waiting to be picked up, keeping a low profile.”
The three men are Yves Denis, Denis Lefebvre and Serge Pomerleau, and are considered by Sûreté du Québec to be dangerous.
A previous helicopter escape took place only 15 months earlier also in Quebec, prompting questions about Quebec’s prison security. “Prison directors have received orders to implement plans everywhere,” Ms. Thériault said. “I’m not going to make the plans public. That would be like telling the crooks that I’m giving them the keys so they free themselves.”
By James Haleavy