While police statistics reveal that escapes from custody had decreased by 26,2percent between the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years, there are still more than 2000 dangerous men and woman on the run.

While police statistics reveal that escapes from custody had decreased by 26,2percent between the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years, there are still more than 2000 dangerous men and woman on the run.

Here are some of the names of the criminals still at large.

l Ntando Idres Maphanga, escaped on November 28 2004.

Maphanga of Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, was arrested on four charges of murder. Police said he was always armed and very dangerous.

l Peter Mkhabela escaped on June 1 last year. His is also known as Julius.

Mkhabela is linked to an international syndicate that takes hijacked trucks over South African borders. He is also being sought for possession of stolen vehicles.

l In April 2005, 25 dangerous prisoners escaped from the police holding cells in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

Seventeen escaped from the Esikhaweni police station near Empangeni in the Umfolozi region.

Their charges range from murder, rape and armed robbery.

Eight others escaped from the KwaNsane police station, near Mathubathuba.

Police managed to track down other dangerous escapees such as Krishan "Scully" Naidoo, 27, and Aboobiker Jawad Aboobiker, 22.

The two had escaped from the Randburg police holding cells after overpowering and killing a policeman in October last year.

They were rearrested two days later in Kameeldrift, Pretoria.

The two were awaiting trial for armed robbery, kidnapping and rape. - Sibongile Mashaba