Darwin: Prisoner Isaac Thompson still missing after escaping police custody on Sunday

Police are desperately scrambling to locate a prisoner who escaped custody on Sunday.

Isaac Thompson, 26, was being escorted between an ambulance and the emergency department at Royal Darwin Hospital when he fled custody about 8.15pm.

He was last seen at 11.30pm that night, when he was captured on CCTV in the area of Lyons.

Thompson is described as a Caucasian male with dark hair, a slim build, and he has a neck tattoo.

NT Police said he was only wearing a pair of shorts and socks and was handcuffed at the time of the escape.

On Tuesday morning, they said they believed Thompson was being helped to evade recapture.

While it is not clear what Thompson was in prison for, police said he was a known associate of the Mongols Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.

Detective Sergeant Jon Spencer warned anyone who sees the 26-year-old not to approach him, and instead contact triple zero.

“Anyone assisting Thompson is committing an offence and will be identified and prosecuted as part of this investigation,” he said.

Det Sgt Spencer added that “significant policing resources” were being used to locate the fugitive.

Anyone with any information on the 26-year-old or his whereabouts are asked to contact 000 and quote reference number P26191473.

The escape comes two months after a prisoner with links to organised crime escaped custody while attending his brother’s funeral.

Orijol Rukaj, 47, was given permission to make the supervised visit to the Keilor East cemetery in Melbourne while being held in remand at a correctional centre in Lara, north-east of Geelong.

He was set to face court last month on drug importation charges, Victoria Police Acting Inspector Simon Pengelly said on June 11.

“We don’t believe that he’s a danger to the community, but obviously they’re very, very serious charges of drug importation,” he said.

Rukaj was tasked with carrying his brother’s casket and was one of about 300 people who attended the ceremony, Victoria Police said.

At some point during the funeral, he managed to evade his supervisors and is believed to have fled the location in a dark coloured Land Cruiser.

“We believe that he was picked up by that Land Cruiser and left, but just due to the sheer amount of people, (they) couldn’t see,” Act Insp Pengelly said.

It is understood that there have been no confirmed sightings of Rukaj, who police say has links to Albanian organised crime, since then.

Police have identified a number of people believed to have assisted Rukaj with his escape, but they are not currently in Australia.

Members of the public are urged to come forward with any sightings, but police say Rukaj is not considered violent.

More to come...