Journalists' Cafe Tip-Off Leads to Arrest
A simple coffee in a north London cafe sparked the chain of events that ended Britain's most high-profile manhunt for a wrongly released sex offender. Sky News correspondent Tom Parmenter and camera operator Josh Masters tracked down Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, in Finsbury Park after receiving crucial information from members of the local Algerian community.
The Algerian convicted sex offender had been at large since 29 October 2025 after being mistakenly freed from HMP Wandsworth in south London. This marked the second such incident within weeks, following the wrongful release of Ethiopian sex offender Hadush Kebatu from the same prison last month.
The Chase Through Finsbury Park
After establishing contact with Algerian men at a cafe, the Sky News team received a crucial tip that Kaddour-Cherif was in the area and considering turning himself in. "He wants to hand himself to police," one friend revealed candidly during conversations at the establishment.
The breakthrough came when a source led Parmenter and Masters through Finsbury Park, past joggers and families, toward the station gates. The situation escalated rapidly as Metropolitan Police officers swarmed the area responding to a separate tip from a member of the public.
Undercover officers, uniformed police, and screeching vehicles created a frantic scene as the manhunt intensified. During the chaos, the journalists spotted a man matching the suspect's description wearing green tracksuit bottoms, a beanie hat, and glasses.
Denial and Eventual Capture
When approached by the Sky News team, Kaddour-Cherif initially denied his identity, claiming the actual suspect had pedalled away on a Lime bicycle. Despite his evasive responses, the game was effectively over.
In a surprising turn, the fugitive walked directly toward a police van, where officers quickly moved to handcuff him. Over the following ten minutes, he became increasingly agitated, shouting at journalists: "It's not my f****** fault, they release me!"
Police confirmed his identity using smartphone images from Sky News' online platforms before placing him in the prisoner cage of their vehicle. The arrest concluded a five-day search that had embarrassed prison authorities.
The community involvement proved crucial to resolving the situation, with two separate tip-offs - one to journalists and another directly to police - ensuring the offender's swift recapture. Another Algerian man who alerted authorities expressed his disgust toward sex offenders and the shame he felt about the entire episode.
