Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel Ghaffar on Monday removed senior security officials from Ismailia governorate and replaced Chief of Security Ali Al-Azizi and his deputy.
Major Essam Saad was appointed as the new security chief, while former officials were transferred to unidentified positions inside the ministry, according to state media reports. The move comes in parallel with ongoing investigations into the escape of six prisoners on Friday from Ismailia Future Prison.
Other officials were also removed, including the director of the Ismailia Investigative Bureau, who was transferred to the Juvenile Investigation Bureau, and the Ismailia General Security Inspector, who was moved to the Vice Investigations Bureau, according to a source who spoke to Daily News Egypt on condition of anonymity.
The Ismailia National Security Apparatus Inspector was also moved from his position to the main National Security headquarters based in Cairo, according to state-run Akhbar Al-Youm on Monday.
This comes as the Ismailia Prosecution Authority ordered the detention of three police officers and 13 other police conscripts and personnel against the backdrop of a jail break on Friday when six prisoners were able to escape Ismailia prison, state media reported
On Friday, six inmates fled the Ismailia Future Prison, rioting as they tried to escape and engaging in an exchange of fire with the police, according to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry.
A civilian and an officer were killed in the clashes, which were reported to have lasted for six hours. The civilian, Ahmed Rizk, was said to “have been passing by during the incident” while the officer, a major named Mohamed Al-Husseini, was killed as he chased the inmates. A police conscript was also injured.
Later that same day, local media reported that one of the escapees was arrested. The suspect told authorities that his breakout was facilitated by a secret internal informant who helped them acquire weapons, in exchange for a sum of EGP 100,000, according to the Sunday issue of state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram. Preliminary investigations corroborate this claim.
The six fugitives include three terrorist suspects who were arrested a week ago by National Security while trying to smuggle weapons through one of the villages on the borders of Ismailia to North Sinai, allegedly to carry out deadly attacks. The three others were detained for criminal charges, including theft and abduction, Al-Ahram reported.
