Six more arrests in hunt for Albanian men on run from Yarl's Wood immigration detention centre

Six more arrests have been made by police searching for eight men who escaped from an immigration removal centre after a riot.

Three of those suspected of escaping have been arrested by police since the incident at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre on Friday night.

Three other men have been arrested for offences connected to the escape, with officers having seized drugs and cash as part of their inquiries.

Bedfordshire Police have now called on the remaining four escapees to hand themselves in.

It comes amid multiple arrests and police activity across the country to track down those who escaped.

The men escaped following a disturbance at the Yarl's Wood immigration detention centre on Friday, 28 April.

Initially 13 people fled the site after detainees used gym equipment to damage the building and break the doors. Five were soon tracked down by police.

The remaining eight were all men, seven in their 20s and one in his 30s.

Det Supt William Hodgkinson said: “We are following a number of lines of inquiry in this investigation across the country and are determined to do everything we can to bring those responsible to justice.

“This is a serious crime and is being treated as such by our officers and those in law enforcement across the country.

"I would urge anyone involved in this to strongly consider handing themselves in. This would be in their best interests to mitigate the kind of serious criminal sanctions we will look to impose on them when we catch them."

Police said they had moved a number of people at Yarl's Wood into other prisons to try to make sure similar disturbances did not happen again.

Officers said a man in his 30s and two men in their 20s had been arrested in West Yorkshire and north and south London on suspicion of escaping lawful custody.

The man in north London was also arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs and possession of criminal property after police seized a significant amount of cannabis, cash and Class A drugs.

A further two men found at the address were also arrested on suspicion of drugs supply offences, possession of criminal property and harbouring an offender.

In Bedfordshire, a man in his 30s who was detained at Yarl’s Wood was questioned by police on suspicion of violent disorder and criminal damage in connection to Friday’s incident.

He has since been moved to a different location.

A man in his 20s from Bedford has also been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice in connection to the incident and remains in custody.

A man arrested by police in Warwickshire on Tuesday has been released and will face no further action.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know