Strange

Zeppelin Powered Jail Break Plot Busted in Spain

by Tina Kells | July 3, 2009 at 05:14 pm

100 views | 2 Recommendations | 1 comment

It reads like something out of a spy-spoof movie but an eleaborate jail break plot using a remote controlled Zeppelin is a fact, not a fiction. Police in Spain foiled a creative attempt to free an Italian drug trafficker, identified only as Giulio B, using a remote controlled Zeppelin to deliver night vision goggles, climbing gear, and camoflage wear to aid in his escape.

Three people have been arrested in the Zeppelin jail break plot which was cracked when police intercepted the Zeppelin being shipped. How they knew that the 13-foot long toy was going to be used to commit a crime is still unclear.

Giulio B, 52, was convicted of trafficking 440 pounds of cocaine from Mauritania to Spain and is serving his time at a Las Palmas prison on the Canary Islands. He is believed to be an important player in an Italian drug cartel.

It is thought the inmate, identified by police as 52 year-old Giulio B, would use the gear to scale down a prison wall at night where a car would be waiting to take him into hiding.

"He would be transported to a foreign country where he would hide out while he waited for false identity documents and would continue to oversee the shipment of drugs to our country," a statement released by Spanish police said.

The three people arrested by police had sent up camp in a camouflaged tent on a hill some 600 metres away from the jail where they spent weeks observing security measures at the prison through powerful binoculars and telephoto lenses.