Goroka Police have confirmed that in the early hours of Monday morning, ten prisoners escaped from Goroka Police Station Town Cell through a dug-out tunnel that connects to the building’s sewage system and are currently at large.
These prisoners took advantage of the deteriorating cell structure and dug through the old sewage system from inside the cellblock and went past walls to the other side of the building.
According to police reports, the floor had been repaired four years ago after the earlier breakout, but no mesh wire was used to reinforce the cement patch. Over time, the weak cement was repeatedly stamped on and eventually collapsed. The floor was further weakened by constant exposure to water.
Eastern Highlands Provincial Police Commander Chief Superintendent John Kale said, the escapees dug underground, following a pipe that led outside the juvenile cell door, before fleeing the area.
“Early morning on Monday, 10 suspects detained in the cells escaped,” Kale said.
“They dug through from inside of the cell, made a tunnel to the other side and they walked off. There were a lot of detainees in the cell but the tunnel was too narrow so only the slim detainees managed to escape. The rest could not make it through the tunnel.”
Kale said this was the second breakout through the same drainage system, following a similar escape four years ago.
He further said the 10 suspects are known to the police and warned them to surrender.
“The 10 of you who ran for freedom, we know your identities, we know where you are and I appeal for all of you to surrender immediately. We will look for you and whoever that is also harboring these escapees, we will also have you arrested and charged,” Kale said.
He confirmed that the ten detainees who escaped, nine were summary offenders, while one was under a criminal charge of stealing by false pretense.
PPC Kale also stressed on the deteriorating state of the Goroka Police cell saying the building was constructed in the 1960s and has received minimal maintenance in recent years.
He said the escapees exploited a concealed weakness beneath the cell floor, which collapsed quietly due to prolonged water damage, highlighting the urgent need for infrastructure maintenance and upgrades.
PPC Kale further stated that the escape was caused by a hidden structural failure in an aging facility rather than a policing commitment problem, police officers detected the escape and a disclosed police operation is underway.
