20-year-old Moroccan hitman Yousef Mohamed Lehrech escaped his prison cell Saturday in Spain after a security system failure. The man is believed to have killed his boss, a drug lord. A Moroccan hitman has made his prison break two days before Christmas in Spain. Known by the nickname «El Pastilla», the 20-year-old Yousef Mohamed Lehrech escaped the Madrid III Penitentiary Center Saturday, Spanish police said. Photos of the fugitive, described as «highly dangerous», were published Thursday, December 28, on social media by the national police, alongside his height (1.88 meters) and age (20). ⚠️ATENCIÓN⚠️ Este #fugitivo es altamente PELIGROSO Buscamos a Yousef MOHAMED LEHRECH, de 20 años, 1,88m de altura y apodado "El Pastilla", fugado de la prisión de Alcalá Meco, en #Madrid Si le has visto o tienes información➡️?091 [email protected] pic.twitter.com/RWN4Y1XF3B — Policía Nacional (@policia) December 28, 2023 Pastilla's escape comes after he was arrested in April for the alleged murder of a drug lord in Algeciras, in a score-settling case, Spanish newspaper El Pais wrote on Thursday. Lehrech is also believed to be involved in a second commissioned crime, committed in October 2022. Investigators believe that the inmate was able to escape prison due to an at least four security system failures that occurred the night of his prison break. This had led the prisoner to walk through the main gate of prison without being noticed, the same source added. According to footage from the prison CCTV, the escapee was expected to have a face-to-face meeting with family members. Once in the room meant for family visits, he mingled with people who came to see other inmates and made his way out of prison after finding an ungraded door. Arrested for killing his boss, a drug lord Lehrech had been held in solitary detention for eight months before his prison break due to the charges related to two murders. The first murder was allegedly committed on October 6, 2022, on behalf of Nayim KA, Tayena, a drug lord for whom he used to work. Investigators revealed that the man murdered was not the initial target of drug traffickers. They allege that El Pastilla missed his target because the man in question was driving a similar car to that used by the man he was supposed to assassinate. The second crime of which he is accused allegedly occurred on April 12 in 2023. Lehrech is believed to have killed his boss, Tayerna. The same source alleges that El Pastilla would have shot his drug dealer boss in the abdomen and walked out of his house in Cadiz. Pastilla was arrested in Algeciras while trying to flee to Ceuta. He admitted the crime to the Guardia Civil upon his arrest and said that he had thrown the gun he had used to murder his boss into the sea. ⚠️Presta mucha ATENCIÓN a estas fotografías Se trata de un fugitivo altamente PELIGROSO que se ha fugado de la cárcel de Alcalá Meco en #Madrid Si lo has visto??091 o [email protected] Tu repost nos ayudará a detenerlo pic.twitter.com/90oOnGjkjI — Policía Nacional (@policia) December 28, 2023 Spanish police has also linked the escapee to a shooting that occurred earlier this year at one of Ceuta's neighborhoods between rival drug gangs. Lehrech was first detained at the Botafuegos prison in Algeciras but was transferred earlier in December to Alcalá-Meco prison for inmates under 21 years old. Police is currently investigating the circumstances of his escape.
