Shocking way prisoner escaped from jail after drugging his twin brother when he was visiting him

An inmate in Peru drugged his twin brother during a visit which allowed him to escape prison.

There are many shocking prison escape stories, with some even sounding like they have come straight out of a movie.

An incident involving Alexander Delgado Herrera is up there for being one of the most unbelievable.

Alexander had been in prison for child sexual abuse and burglary offences, though he decided to make a run for it in January 2017.

Alexander’s twin, Giancarlo Stuard Delgado, turned up at the Piedras Gordas prison in Peru on January 10, 2017, to pay his sibling a visit.

The prisoner was doing time for burglary and sexual abuse charges (Interior ministry of Peru)

The pair met in the common area of the prison before the brothers ventured towards Alexander's cell.

It's said the inmate then offered his sibling a soda, which Giancarlo unsuspectedly took off of his hands.

Giancarlo passed out not long after consuming the drink and woke up many hours later surrounded by prison guards.

He then told them the story of how he had been drugged by his prison-living brother, though authorities initially refused to believe his story.

Because the siblings looked so alike, officials believed Giancarlo was actually Alexander, raising the prospect he would have to serve the remaining term.

Alexander was just two years into a 16-year jail term at the time of his escape.

It was only when Giancarlo’s fingerprints were compared to those of his brother's that it was confirmed they had the wrong prisoner.

However, Giancarlo wasn't out of the woods just yet, with officials suspecting he may have helped with his sibling's escape.

But he was not charged and has since been released.

So, what exactly happened to Alexander?

The Piedras Gordas prison in Peru (CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP via Getty Images)

Well, security cameras showed Alexander casually walking out of the prison and passing six security checkpoints with ease.

The director of the prison and several guards were fired as a result of the incident.

Alexander was on the run for more than a year before he was recaptured.

“Today there was the recapture of a violator who on 10 January 2017 fled Piedras Gordas when he was supplanted by his brother,” the interior ministry said in February 2018.

"This relative was in detention in place of him, but today Delgado Herrera has been arrested."

Authorities had been trying to track Alexander down for months before finally locating him in the seaside city of Callao.

The escaped prisoner tried to make a run for it when he spotted the agents, but they quickly pounced and captured him.

After his recapture, Alexander told the press he escaped 'because I was desperate to see my mother'.