José Carlos Serna had been passing himself off as a university professor and was found at home, hiding in a hollowed-out sofaJosé Carlos Serna

The National Police have announced that an inmate who escaped from Estremera prison on the back of a forged court order for his release has been arrested at his home in San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

57 year old José Carlos Serna was the head of a gang of kidnappers who snatched a Spanish businessman in 2008 and held him captive for 2 weeks before his rescue by Portuguese police.

Serna was in prison on remand when he escaped for the first time last October, using the method of a forged court ruling ordering his release. On that occasion, he was recaptured 3 days later, but he used the same method again for his release on December 30 last year, and was finally re-arrested last Thursday.

EFE reports that he had kept on the move in the weeks since his release, using a false name and even passing himself off as a university professor. He is understood to have returned home after the property was searched by police and his wife was arrested there as a possible accomplice in his escape.

The National Police said in a press release that the only way for officers to gain access to Serna’s fortress-like house was through a skylight in the roof. They found him hiding out beneath a hollowed-out sofa.