Auckland prisoner van escape: Charges filed, but trio remains at-large

Police are continuing to look for Zane Hepi, 24, Billy Fepulea’i, 43, and 45-year-old Joseph Ng Wun. Photos / NZ Police

The three prisoners alleged to have participated in a dramatic escape on an Auckland motorway last week remain at large, but that hasn’t stopped authorities from charging them with multiple crimes.

Zane Kj Hepi, 24, Billy Malae Fepulea’i, 43, and 45-year-old Joseph Junior Ng Wun were all listed for first appearances today in Auckland District Court. They did not show up, and warrants to arrest were issued.

“Police are continuing to investigate all lines of inquiry to determine where the men are,” Detective Senior Sergeant Lisa Anderson said in a statement this afternoon.

All three men have been charged with escaping custody, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment. Hepi also faces a sentence of up to seven years in prison if convicted of stealing a Hyundai Tucson the trio is alleged to have escaped in. The other two could face sentences of up to two years’ prison if convicted of getting into the same SUV knowing that it had been stolen.

Hepi also faces a third charge of illegally getting into a Toyota Blade during the same incident.

Police said the remand prisoners fled on foot from a transport van on the South-Eastern highway at 2.40pm Friday as they were being taken to Mt Eden Corrections Facility.

“I saw three people run across the on-ramp a few cars ahead of me,” a man who witnessed the escape told the Herald over the weekend. “Then I saw the [Corrections] van pulling over with the back door wide open.

“I didn’t realise they were escaping until I saw the van — so just wondered why they were running across the road.

“They looked pretty happy, though.”

The van at the scene after the escape. Photo / Supplied

Another woman described her “full-on panic attack” when a man “covered in face tattoos” jumped into the back seat of her car and started yelling, “Go, go, go, go!”

“I was fully paralysed and I didn’t know what to do,” she said, explaining that they then sped off as fast as they could.

“He couldn’t get the door shut and couldn’t get his legs in at that speed, so just fell out,” she said. “We didn’t know what to do, so we just kept driving.”

Police issued a warning on Saturday that anyone who helps the men avoid capture could face criminal charges themselves.

Two people have been arrested amid the manhunt on matters unrelated to the escape and are helping the police with inquiries.

The prisoners have been described as having connections across Counties Manukau and Auckland City. Authorities have said they are “dangerous and should not be approached”.

Anyone who sees them is urged to call 111 immediately. Information can also be passed anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at https://www.crimestoppers-nz.org/.