Police successfully recaptured Francis Lela, one of the fugitives from the weathercoast of Guadalcanal who escaped from the Correctional Facility at Rove on 5 October 2012.

This is possible after a massive and lengthy police operation on the weathercoast of Guadalcanal.The Police Media reports that huge support from the weathercoast communities assisted police track down the escaped prisoner to an area near Tina River where he was eventually cornered and recaptured. It says a total of 47 officers from the Guadalcanal Provincial Police and the Police Response Team were deployed to the weathercoast under the operation. The police team has been working very closely with the weathercoast community who have been providing significant assistance which has led to the recapture of the escapee and about 5 others.The operation has been a successful joint effort by police and the weathercoast communities. Police officers on the ground are also increasingly getting calls for assistance and crime reports either related to the escaped prisoners or criminal activities occurring in the villages.Over the past two weeks, the police operation has managed to establish two rape cases and also made 15 arrests at the weathercoast for incidents relating to people associating, harbouring and even co-accused of the escaped prisoners. The Police media unit adds some of the individuals arrested were in relation to the burning of the Mbabanakira Police Station.Source: SIBC