'El Chapo' Guzman's Escape Route

Security-camera footage of the moment Sinaloa cartel kingpin "El Chapo" escaped. Mexico National Security Commission/Amanda Macias/Business Insider

2015-07-16T15:34:18.000Z

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Slipping through a perfectly placed hole in the blind spot of a lone security camera, the world's most notorious drug lord escaped from a high-security prison on Saturday.

Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquín Guzmán Loera, aka "El Chapo" or "Shorty," used a custom-built labyrinth underneath his L-shaped Altiplano prison cell.

The extraordinary escape is estimated to have cost Guzmán $50 million in construction and bribes to prison officials, The Telegraph reports.

Reuters photographer Edgard Garrido toured Guzmán's escape route:

Here's the entrance to Guzmán's L-shaped prison cell in Mexico's Altiplano Federal Penitentiary.

The drug-cartel leader, who was recaptured by Mexican marines in February 2014, began plotting his escape almost immediately.

A simple desk and shelf are seen in one corner of his cell.

Here's a shot of Guzmán's bed.

His cell had one security camera, which was located above his bed.

The entrance to Guzmán's custom-built tunnel was perfectly located within the surveillance camera's blind spot ...

... leading some investigators to believe that a person within the prison shared blueprints and security details with Guzmán's engineers.

Shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday, Guzmán got up from his bed and walked toward his shower at the far end of his cell.

He crouched down behind a short wall that separated his shower from his toilet and sink.

He then squeezed through the shower floor measuring 1 1/2 feet by 1 1/2 feet.

Here's a close-up of the hole.

Guzmán then climbed down a 32-foot ladder ...

... which led to a mile-long tunnel that was 5 1/2 feet high (one inch taller than Guzmán) and 2 feet 7 inches wide.

The secret passage was illuminated, ventilated, and equipped with a motorcycle modified to run on rails.

Authorities believe the motorcycle was used to move dirt during the construction of the tunnel.

And this mechanical pulley found at the far end of the passage may have been used to lift up debris from the excavation.

The end of the tunnel led to a basement of an abandoned home. The room was full of construction materials.

A short ladder in the corner of the room was the last leg of Guzmán's escape.

The ladder opened up to a dirt floor of a dusty unfinished home.

While the owner of the property is still unknown, officials believe the concrete building was uninhabited for some time. "It's totally abandoned," Mexican Attorney General Arely Gómez González told reporters.

The nondescript abandoned site is at least half a mile away from any other building.

el chapo mexico drug lord altiplano tunnel

REVEALED: The prison-escape route of the world's most notorious drug lord

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

REVEALED: The prison-escape route of the world's most notorious drug lord

Here's the entrance to Guzmán's L-shaped prison cell in Mexico's Altiplano Federal Penitentiary.

The drug-cartel leader, who was recaptured by Mexican marines in February 2014, began plotting his escape almost immediately.

A simple desk and shelf are seen in one corner of his cell.

Here's a shot of Guzmán's bed.

His cell had one security camera, which was located above his bed.

The entrance to Guzmán's custom-built tunnel was perfectly located within the surveillance camera's blind spot ...

... leading some investigators to believe that a person within the prison shared blueprints and security details with Guzmán's engineers.

Shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday, Guzmán got up from his bed and walked toward his shower at the far end of his cell.

He crouched down behind a short wall that separated his shower from his toilet and sink.

He then squeezed through the shower floor measuring 1 1/2 feet by 1 1/2 feet.

Here's a close-up of the hole.

Guzmán then climbed down a 32-foot ladder ...

... which led to a mile-long tunnel that was 5 1/2 feet high (one inch taller than Guzmán) and 2 feet 7 inches wide.

The secret passage was illuminated, ventilated, and equipped with a motorcycle modified to run on rails.

Authorities believe the motorcycle was used to move dirt during the construction of the tunnel.

And this mechanical pulley found at the far end of the passage may have been used to lift up debris from the excavation.

The end of the tunnel led to a basement of an abandoned home. The room was full of construction materials.

A short ladder in the corner of the room was the last leg of Guzmán's escape.

The ladder opened up to a dirt floor of a dusty unfinished home.

While the owner of the property is still unknown, officials believe the concrete building was uninhabited for some time. "It's totally abandoned," Mexican Attorney General Arely Gómez González told reporters.

The nondescript abandoned site is at least half a mile away from any other building.

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

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