Swedish inmates release guards in exchange for pizza

DELIVERY MADE, TOO

Two Swedish inmates took a pair of guards hostage for nine hours on Wednesday, demanding pizza as ransom and releasing them after the food had been delivered.

According to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the prisoners — 24-year-old Haned Mahamed Abdullahi and 30-year-old Isak Dewit — are both serving sentences for murder, at the high-security Hallby prison, near the city of Eskilstuna.

The pair allegedly forced themselves into an area reserved only for guards around 12:30 p.m., taking two guards hostage and covering the surveillance cameras, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service told The Associated Press.

The inmates were allegedly welding razor blades at the time. Negotiators and police were sent to the prison and, initially, the two prisoners demanded a helicopter so they could make their escape.

However, as Aftonbladet reported, they offered to release one of the hostages in exchange for having 20 “kebab pizzas” delivered to the other inmates in their ward.

The newspaper later published photos of a local pizza parlour quickly preparing the pizzas before they were delivered to the inmates at 4:30 p.m.

Five hours later, the inmates had released both of the guards, bringing an end to the nine-hour ordeal, according to Business Insider.

“Yes, the pizzas were delivered,” Stina Lyles, a prison spokesperson, told Agencefrance Presse. She also added that neither of the guards had been hurt and both “were able to return safely to their family.”

Both inmates were also taken to a police station for questioning, according to the outlet.