British police announced the arrest early on Sunday morning of Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, a thirty-eight-year-old Ethiopian asylum seeker who was mistakenly released from prison instead of being transferred to an immigration detention facility.

He was captured in the Finsbury Park area of north London following a two-day manhunt that began after his erroneous release from Chelmsford Prison on Friday.

Kebatu had been convicted in September for sexually assaulting a fourteen-year-old girl and a woman, and sentenced to twelve months in prison.

He had arrived in the United Kingdom only days earlier by small boat and was staying at the Bell Hotel in Epping when the offences occurred — an incident that sparked significant protests outside government-funded migrant hotels.

According to investigators, Kebatu was mistakenly discharged from HMP Chelmsford instead of being handed to immigration enforcement for deportation.

CCTV footage showed him boarding a train from Chelmsford at 12:41 p.m. and later walking through London carrying a white bag decorated with avocado patterns.

A lorry driver who saw him after his release said the man appeared confused and repeatedly asked prison staff where he should go.

Officers reportedly told him he was “free to leave” without further guidance.

Metropolitan Police confirmed that public information led officers to locate him in north London.

Following his arrest, he was returned to prison custody while the Ministry of Justice opened an internal inquiry.

One officer has already been suspended pending investigation.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy described the error as “shocking and unacceptable,” promising that those responsible would be held accountable.

The case has reignited public debate about the management of Britain’s overcrowded prison system and the government’s handling of foreign offenders awaiting deportation.