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CCTV: Notorious drug lord escapes from prison dressed in guard’s uniform in Columbia

Juan Castro, better known as "Matamba", walked out of La Picota jail just after midnight on Friday.(Photo:BBC)

A Colombian drug lord escaped from a maximum-security prison in Bagota on Friday. The incident captured on surveillance cameras shows Juan Castro, one of the leaders of the notorious Gulf Clan drug cartel calmly walking out of the jail in a guard’s uniform. 

Surveillance footage released by Colombia's prison service shows a man they say is Matamba calmly leaving the prison wing through a door that has been left open. No guards are seen in the footage, only a little dog appears to notice the man leaving.

According to the BBC, a prison guard has been arrested for helping him escape. 

Guards noticed Matamba was not in his cell during the early morning roll call on Friday. He is now on the run as the Columbian police have mounted a frantic manhunt for him.

President Iván Duque said he was outraged by Matamba's escape and announced a reform of the jail system.

The director of La Picota prison has been suspended along with more than 50 prison guards who were on shift at the time of Matamba's escape, according to prosecutor Margarita Cabello.