News about Robert Fitzgerald

Robert Fitzgerald, 38, absconded from HMP Ford after being jailed for seven years and four months for ferrying drugs and illicit cash across Britain in 'a major operation' in 2014. But the next November, Fitzgerald 'simply walked out of the prison' and vanished without trace for nine years, opening a bank account and a business in his own name, while fathering two young children now aged five and seven. He began working as a builder in Oxford and picked up jobs at Oxford University and the John Radcliffe Hospital throughout COVID. He was only caught last August when the insurance documents he used for registering a van, which contained his name, date of birth and address were flagged and cross referenced with the police national computer exposing his wanted status.

A drug dealer who escaped from prison spent nine years living in plain sight under his own name and paying tax in Britain. In a shocking indictment of the criminal justice system, Robert Fitzgerald, 38, evaded capture for nearly a decade - despite making no attempt to hide his identity. He was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison for supplying cocaine, and was moved to HMP Ford in East Sussex for the last 18 months of his term before absconding in November 2015. Sussex Police launched a manhunt and a public appeal, but Fitzgerald was not detained until last month - despite spending years working and paying taxes under his own name.