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In what has been called an unprecedented act of deception in the country, the unnamed man stole his inmate's identity card at Perpignan prison, southwestern France, and filled in the release forms while the other man was patiently waiting to be called.
Prison guards then looked on as the convict calmly - and as far as they were aware legally - walked out of the front gate of the prison, according to Le Parisien.
The 29-year old fugitive, whose identity has not been revealed, has previous convictions for fraud, violent robbery and, perhaps unsurprisingly, identity theft.
He had started serving his latest sentence late last June and was due to remain in prison for "several more years", according to Le Parisien.
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Soon after the fugitive convict left the compound, his cellmate presented himself to prison wardens, inquiring why his name had not been called out to come and start release procedures.
It was only at this point that guards realised that had been bamboozled. However, by this time, the wrong man was far from the prison walls.
A police hunt was underway on Wednesday to re-capture him.
Judicial police in Perpignan have launched in investigation into the escape. Detectives reportedly are trying to ascertain whether the fugitive's cellmate was an accomplice in his escape or simply the victim of identity theft.
An internal inquiry has also been launched into the security slip-up as the two men reportedly don't look anything like each other.
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