A former Olympic champion wrestler escaped police custody shortly after he was sentenced to five years in prison for drug trafficking offences.

Peter Farkas, who won the 82kg Greco-Roman style gold in Barcelona in 1992, left the courtroom during a break and did not return.

The court ordered he should be taken into custody, along with his brother Karoly Farkas who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for the same charges and who also fled the court.

Farkas was arrested in 2004 after police found several thousand marihuana plants in a residential property owned by his family.

The Farkas brothers can appeal the court ruling.