It was supposed to be the prison that could hold any criminal – but one managed to escape.

Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, better known as the drugs kingpin, El Chapo , managed to tunnel his way out Mexico's top security prison Altiplano Federal Penitentiary four years ago today.

His escape was audacious – he made his way through an almost mile-long tunnel, which had been made under his cell.

But this was not the first time the master criminal had managed to bust his way out of a maximum security prison – and only time will tell if it's the last.

Guzmán was the leader of the feared Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico and a much-feared drug lord.

Born in 1957 into poverty, El Chapo – which means 'Shorty' in reference to his 5ft 6ins height – was beaten by his father.

It was his dad who lead him into the drug trade when he helped him grow marijuana for local dealers.

But by the late 1970s, El Chapo wanted to be more than a bit layer in the underground crime scene and struck out on his own with rising drug lord. Hector Luis Palma Salazar.

It was in this environment that he plied his big time contacts by plotting route to get drugs from Mexico and into America.

And his rise to power showed no signs of slowing.

Next he worked as head of logistics for another drug king pin, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, and when his boss was jailed it was time for El Chapo to become a drugs lord in his own right.

He founded the Sinaloa Cartel, which was involved in the mass production of cocaine, heroin and cannabis.

This was then smuggled across the border and even into Europe.

As one of the world's most powerful – and brutal – drugs lords El Chapo was rolling in cash.

His wealth was so vast he was even included in Forbes lists of the most powerful people in the world between 2009 and 2013.

The authorities, who were constantly on his trail, believed he had the same kind of wealth and power as legendary drugs baron, Pablo Escobar.

El Chapo's luck seemed to run out in 1993 when he was finally arrested in Guatemala and jailed for 20 years for drug trafficking and murder.

He was locked up in Puente Grande, a maximum security prison in Mexico.

But bars and bricks couldn't hold the drugs lord and in 2001 he had managed to bribe prison guards to secure his freedom.

His escape was far from ordinary as El Chapo is said to have been smuggled out of the prison in a laundry truck and then wheeled onto a truck.

However, there are also conflicting reports that this was a myth and he, in fact, simply walked out of the jail in a police uniform.

Despite the huge reward for his recapture – more than £7million – he remained a free man for 13 years.

Not only that but he continued to build on his huge drug empire.

But then in 2014 he was once again captured and put back behind bars.

Even his arrest seems stranger than fiction.

El Chapo was in bed with his mistress when troops arrived at the front door of his home.

Still naked, the crime boss raced to the bathroom and urged the rest of his household to follow him.

From there, he popped the top of his escape hatch and disappeared in the tunnel, which was part of Culiacan's sewage system.

They emerged near a river and El Chapo once again seemed to have evaded the authorities.

But police were still on his tail, now joined by the marines, which lead them through several of Guzman's safe house that were all connected by tunnels.

He was eventually apprehended at Mazatlan and was hiding in a hotel room.

This time home was the Altiplano Federal Penitentiary, where he lived in a tiny L-shaped cell.

Mexican authorities vowed he would never be able to escape again.

But less than 17 months later, El Chapo was once again a free man – and this time his escape route was even more audacious and bizarre.

A huge underground tunnel, almost a mile long, had been built directly under El Chapo's cell.

It has been said his associates managed to get their hands on the blue prints of the prison.

On the night of his escape, guards watched El Chapo close to the shower in his cell, the shower itself was the only area not visible on security cameras.

When he hadn't re-appeared on the CCTV for 25 minutes, security rushed to his small cell to look for him – but he was gone.

They were stunned to discover the tunnel, burrowed 33feet below the floor, and which El Chapo had reached via a ladder.

And this was no ordinary tunnel for the feared drug lord – it was equipped with lighting and ventilation.

A motorbike was also found in the tunnel and it has been rumoured that El Chapo used this to escape at speed.

For 18 months he was once again on the loose and his second escape passed into the stuff of legend.

During his time on the run he was even interviewed by Hollywood A-lister, Sean Penn, for the Rolling Stone.

Then, in January 2016, Guzman was finally recaptured after a shoot out.

Five gunmen were killed and one Marine involved in the operation was injured.

This time, no chances were taken and Guzman was extradicted to the US on January 19, 2017.

He was housed in he maximum security wing of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York and was changed with 17 counts, including murder, money laundering and kidnapping.

Even the magazines and newspapers he receives have to be screened by the FBI in case they contain hidden messages.

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