Escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife assisted by two friends, jury told

Escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife assisted by two friends, jury toldImage source, Metropolitan PoliceImage caption, Khalife was arrested on a canal towpath in September 2023ByHenry MoorePublished3 minutes agoTwo friends allegedly aided escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife by acting as an instructor inside jail and a "man on the ground" supplying him with money, a court has heard.Adeel Khan, 32, and Imran Chowdhury, 26, have pleaded not guilty to helping former soldier Khalife escape from HMP Wandsworth by tying himself to the bottom of a delivery truck in September 2023.The two defendants lived just a mile apart in east London, a Snaresbrook Crown Court jury was told. Khalife, who sparked a nationwide manhunt when he absconded from the London prison, was sentenced to 14 years and three months for spying for Iran after a 2024 trial.Prosecutor Tom Williams described Khan and Chowdhury's friendship as "important"."The prosecution's case is that Khan was providing instructions from inside Wandsworth, and that Chowdhury was the man on the ground, providing money to a man who had escaped from the same prison that morning," he told the court."Khan would have to have given careful thought to who could be trusted with a task like this - the consequences if it went wrong, or if Chowdhury told the wrong people about it, would, you might think, be very significant."Khan was first linked to Khalife's escape through a red diary containing his name found in the former soldier's possession when he was arrested, the court heard.Inside was Khan's name, illegal prison phone number, personal mobile number, and his Snapchat account, according to photos shown to the court.Khalife had also been carrying around £200 in £20 notes, which the prosecution alleged was taken from a £400 withdrawal made by Chowdhury at a cash machine in Richmond, south-west London, the day of the prison escape.Chowdhury was paid £120 for this, the court he...