British Ghanaian drill rapper Daniel Boakye, who briefly turned a fugitive’s life into viral content after escaping police custody twice within a week, has been recaptured by London’s Metropolitan Police at an address in south-east London, bringing his high-profile manhunt to a close just days after he posted a taunting online video mocking authorities.
Boakye, who performs under the stage name DSAVV, had been awaiting deportation from the United Kingdom to Ghana when he first fled on 10 February 2026 while receiving medical treatment at West Middlesex University Hospital in Isleworth, west London. Officers arrested him the following day at an address in Thamesmead, south-east London.
He escaped again just four days later, fleeing from University Hospital Lewisham on Sunday, 15 February at approximately 3:05pm while under police guard. Officers gave chase through hospital corridors but were unable to detain him before he left the building.
What followed turned a criminal manhunt into an international news story. Boakye posted a video on Instagram from an undisclosed location, rapping over footage in which a television screen displayed news coverage of his first escape. He referenced the Top Boy character Modie and included lines taunting authorities. A second video, recorded while he remained at large, showed him performing in a hoodie with lines including a phrase about evading capture and referencing a luxury car, drawing millions of views and significant condemnation.
In connection with his first escape, four people, two women aged 20 and 51, a 17-year-old girl, and a 30-year-old man, were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and later released on bail pending further inquiries.
Boakye was sentenced in July 2023 to six years and five months in prison for his role in a gang that carried out knifepoint robberies across London between June 2021 and January 2022. He and his accomplices, including Justin Popoola and Nathan Mohalland, stole mobile phones and forced victims to reveal their passcodes before siphoning approximately £115,000 worth of cryptocurrency. The gang was eventually identified after stolen bank details were used to order takeaway food delivered to their home addresses.
The episode sparked widespread debate about custodial security protocols, with social media users questioning why a prisoner on a deportation order and with a prior escape on his record was not more securely restrained during hospital visits. The Metropolitan Police’s Directorate of Professional Standards launched a formal review into the circumstances of both escapes.
A Home Office spokesperson reiterated that all foreign national offenders sentenced to imprisonment in the United Kingdom are considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity, adding that the government is reforming human rights laws and overhauling the appeals process to accelerate removals. With Boakye now back in custody, his deportation to Ghana is expected to proceed.
