A man has reportedly been committing crimes for 24 years so he can go to jail to avoid being deported – at a cost of nearly GBP 650,000 to the taxpayer.
Named only as Allasane S., 50, in German media, the man is understood to come from somewhere in Africa.
He has remained tight-lipped about his exact country of origin, making it difficult for local authorities to deport him.
Allasane S. has reportedly been committing crimes since November 1998 to remain in the German correctional system and stop the authorities from lawfully deporting him.
He has recently been convicted of assault, drug trafficking and fraud, landing him in jail for another two years as of 30 November 2021, according to local media.
Allasane S. is reportedly currently serving time at the Billwerder correctional facility in Hamburg and has spent more than half of his time in Germany behind bars.
A few days ago, the Department of the Interior, the Immigration Office and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees reportedly made another attempt to clarify his nationality.
He was taken to Munich on a bus where he spent the night in Stadelheim prison before meeting a delegation from Senegal the following day.
It was not the first time and the result was just the same: the authorities were none the wiser as to his country of origin.
He was then taken back to Hamburg.
The authorities say they are at a loss regarding what to do with Allasane S.
German media said that up until mid-2018, he had cost the German taxpayer EUR 600,000 (GBP 527,856) and that since then he has cost EUR 122,400 (GBP 107,682) more, bringing the total burden on the taxpayer to EUR 722,400 (GBP 635,500).