Reykjavik, April 19: A suspected bitcoin thief in Iceland, Sindri Thor Stefansson, not only broke the prison where he was lodged, but also walked 60 miles to the airport and boarded a flight to Stockholm which was also ferrying the Iceland Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir.

Jakobsdóttir was on her way to attend the first-ever Indo-Nordic summit, hosted jointly by India and Sweden. The 42-year-old head of state was also scheduled to hold talks with Indian PM Narendra Modi.

Stefansson, the accused bitcoin thief, is charged of swiping over 600 bitcoin mining servers. The collective value of the bitcoin heist in which he was involved is reported to be nearly $2 million. He was lodged in prison since February 2 this year.

Local media reports, while divulging details about his prison break, said he escaped at nearly 1 am in the night on Wednesday giving a slip to the lax prison authorities. After reaching the nearest airport located 60 miles away from the jail, he boarded the flight to Sweden after buying a ticket on a fake name.

Although Iceland is not part of the European Union, the visa-less travel to its citizens is permitted in the Nordic region as Reykjavik is part of the Schengen Zone.

The Iceland PM is yet to issue her statement on the major security lapse. An inquiry, however, has been initiated against prison guards, reports said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 19, 2018 12:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).