Drug baron John Anslow 'smuggled out of UK in metal box'

Drug baron John Anslow, who became one of Britain's most notorious fugitives when he was sprung from a prison van, was smuggled out of the country in a metal freight box, it has been claimed.

John Anslow, and the van he escaped from

The Tipton criminal was the first Category A prisoner to escape jail in 17 years when he went on the run in January 2012.

The 33-year-old was on his way to court to face a murder charge when the prison van he was travelling in was intercepted outside HMP Hewell near Redditch in Worcestershire.

And Anslow's father, also called John, says his son hid in a cargo container on a ship bound to Turkey when he made his daring escape.

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Anslow would spend 439 days on the run before he was eventually caught in March last year in Alancak, Northern Cyprus.

The father of three is currently serving a 22-year sentence for conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis in Belmarsh Prison.

He was also given a seven year and two month jail term for the escape from custody.

After being sprung from the prison van, Anslow climbed inside a metal container which was loaded onto a ship in Dover as cargo, his father said.

He then spent three days in the box - briefly seeing daylight when the tanker docked in Italy - and only emerged once it was unloaded in Turkey.

From there the fugitive travelled to Northern Cyprus where he lived in his sun-drenched bolt hole until officers tracked him down in March last year.

In March this year, Anslow was cleared of organising the 2010 murder of skip hire boss Richard Deakin, who was blasted to death as he slept at his home in Chasetown.

Gunman David Harrison – Anslow's uncle – and getaway driver Darryl Dickens, both from Bilston, were jailed for life for the murder in December 2012.

But John Anslow Snr has also blasted police for snatching his son at gunpoint as he recovered from a gall bladder operation at his Cyprus villa.

He said: "He was bundled into a car by three armed officers and driven immediately to a waiting plane. That's diabolical.

"I know criminals who have been extradited from Spain and they all went through the proper procedure.

"With John, they just done it. They pointed a gun at his head, put him in a car, sat on him and drove to the airport."

Mr Anslow Snr, who lives in Wimbledon, also revealed the drug baron is set to appeal his drug trafficking conviction.

Speaking after he visited his son - who is now a Triple Category A prisoner - in Belmarsh, the 59-year-old added: "If there is any justice, he should get the sentence halved, at the very least.

"Yes, he's dabbled in drugs, but not to the extent that's been said. My son's no angel – far from it – but he's not what they've made him out to be.

"It's been trial by media."

Mr Anslow Snr claims the vast majority of his son's wealth came from elaborate gambling and says he was just a minnow in the drugs trade.

But a police bug in Anslow's flat revealed a far-reaching narcotics network and a subsequent raid uncovered a Rolex watch and a luxury lifestyle funded by thousands of pounds of cocaine and cannabis.

Officers then discovered that large quantities of drugs were distributed nationally from Anslow's manor in Tipton.

A member of prison staff has been sacked and others disciplined for failing to detect a mobile phone Anslow had secreted in an intimate part of his anatomy to help plot his escape.

And in total, six people have been jailed for their part in the plan to spring the drugs baron from the prison van in January 2012.