The Argentine police launched a nationwide manhunt for three escaped convicts from a high-security provincial prison in Buenos Aires. Brothers Cristian and Martin Lanatta, as well as Victor Schillaci, were serving life imprisonment for the kidnapping and murder of three businessmen in a drug-related crime in 2008.

"We have made an international request for their capture. In this type of escape, there is always a degree of complicity. It is very difficult to escape from a prison without someone inside helping," State Security Secretary Eugenio Burzaco said. He has also ordered for more security checks at the borders to prevent the escaped convicts from leaving the country, per Business Recorder.

The Martín, 40, Cristian, 41, and Schillaci, 33, were convicted for the murders of Leopoldo Bina, Damián Ferrón and Sebastián Forza in 2008. However, the Lanatta brothers made headlines earlier in the year when they accused Aníbal Fernández of being the mastermind of the murders of the three businessmen that were linked to a case about ephedrine and drug trafficking.

According to BBC, Fernandez, cabinet chief of former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, has denied any involvement in the case with convicted mastermind Esteban Perez Corradi on the run from the authorities for several years now. The ex-cabinet chief lost to Maria Eugenia Vidal in the gubernatorial race for the Buenos Aires province.

Gov. Vidal has said that there is a possibility that someone from the inside helped the three convicts escape from the General Alvear prison, firing the Provincial Penitentiary Service director as well as authorities from Unit 30 hours after the prison break. She adds that drug trafficking has already entered Argentine politics with the alleged involvement of Fernandez.

The Lanatta Brothers and Schillaci reportedly escaped around 2:30 a.m. last Sunday after overpowering security guards from the health unit using a fake gun. The three men were dressed in uniforms and hijacked a car belonging to a prison employee, per the Buenos Aires Herald. The convicts drove for about 200 meters to the first checkpoint, where they took a guard as a hostage.

They reached Villa Belgrano at 2:45 a.m. then left the car and the hostage, as seen on security cameras in the area. The Lanatta brothers along with Schillaci already tried escaping from the Sierra Chica Penitentiary last December 2013 but were thwarted by penitentiary officials.

Buenos Aires province Security Minister Cristian Ritondo already offered $150,000 as a reward for anyone the can prove vital information on the location of the criminals. The manhunt also involves regional security forces, the country's Federal Intelligence Agency and the Interpol.