A cunning prisoner outwitted a policeman and escaped in his cell - by complaining that there was a snake inside.<br /><br />Play-acting prisoner Anan Komolwanit, 23, was arrested and held in custody in Ayutthaya, Thailand, on Sunday night (November 18) after allegedly being found with dozens of methamphetamine pills.<br /><br />The next evening the suspect began screaming and called for help, shouting to the on-duty officer Commander Ratchada Supawong, that a deadly cobra had slithered through the bars. <br /><br />The hapless cop made three visits to the cell without seeing the mystery serpent. He even had a stick with him ready to hit the snake.<br /><br />But on the fourth trip, after giving the suspect a clip round the ear, the cop looked again deeper in the cell. While he was searching, Anan moved slowly behind the officer then crept through the open cell door - slamming it behind him, locking it and leaving the officer trapped inside.<br /><br />CCTV shows how Anan sprinted out of the station before another bungling policeman who was in pursuit then stumbled on a step.<br /><br />More than 200 police and volunteers began searching for the fugitive who was later arrested in the early hours of Tuesday morning hiding under a banana tree. <br /><br />Lieutenant Colonel Wasuthep Konglon from the Sena district police station, where the escape happened, said the suspect was caught after he approached a member of the public asking for help.<br /><br />The suspect has now been remanded in custody for a second time and faces charges of ''escaping the detention of police officials'' as well as the initial drugs charges.
