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A suspected drug boss nicknamed ‘The Fly’ is at the centre of a nationwide manhunt after escaping from a prison van which was ambushed by four gunmen in northern France.
Mohamed Amra, 30, was being transported from a court hearing in Rouen to a secure jail in Evreux when the fatal attack unfolded shortly after 11am on the A154 motorway in Val-de-Reuil in Normandy.
Two prison officers were killed, with one leaving behind a five months pregnant wife, with three more guards seriously injured.
The escaped prisoner fled alongside the attackers in two vehicles, which were abandoned and found burned a short while later. A police source told Le Parisien that Amra is the head of a narcotics network, and had been jailed for 18 months last week for a series of burglaries.
Hundreds of police officers and gendarmes had been mobilised, with president Emmanuel Macron vowing that everything was being done to find the perpetrators.
Footage from the scene near the commune of Incarville appeared to show a hooded attacker in all black firing an assault rifle at the prisoner convoy. One of the attackers was injured in retaliatory fire, a prison officer union boss said.
Mohamed Amra’s lawyer says he was ‘perfectly normal’ during morning meeting
The lawyer of Mohamed Amra, Hugues Vigier, has been interviewed live on French news channel BFMTV and described the incident as “unimaginable”.
“I’m utterly shocked by what happened this morning,” he said.
“This violence is unimaginable. My assistant saw Mr Amra this morning. A short meeting, about an hour long was planned for this morning and my assistant saw Mr Amra and he was perfectly normal.
“I would like to believe that he didn’t know about the plan to free him. That would not change the tragedy that took place but as lawyer I want to believe he didn’t plan this escape.
“For me this plan doesn’t match with what I know of him. If he’s behind it then I failed to understand who he is.
“He knew about today’s transfer so it is possible that he’d have told other people.
“If he’s behind today’s escape he’s a much bigger criminal that what’s he’s been convicted for until now.”
Holly Evans15 May 2024 05:00
Prison unions in France call for ‘blockade’ of prisons in support of two dead officers
Prison unions in France have reportedly announced a “blockade” of prisons and other facilities on Wednesday in support of the two officers who were killed.
“This day must be a ‘dead prisons’ day and may be renewed,” the inter-union group stated in a press release. They are calling for a meeting with the Minister of Justice and his departments to address a series of demands too.
Previous union “blockades” have seen striking prison guards place their picket lines across the entrances to facilities, attempting to block all access. There were major national prison blockades in 2018 after a spate of attacks on guards.
Meanwhile, the French police is still hunting for a group of gunmen who killed two prison officers in an attack at a motorway toll, freeing a convict, 30-year-old Amra, connected to gangland drug killings.
French president Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that “everything is being done to find the perpetrators”.
Maroosha Muzaffar15 May 2024 04:49
Everything we know about The Fly: ‘Drug boss’ inmate on the run after two French prison officers shot dead
A suspected drug boss is being hunted by hundreds of police officers after he escaped when his prison van was ambushed by armed gunmen in France.
Two prison officers were shot dead while three others were seriously injured during the shooting, which occurred in broad daylight on a motorway around an hour from Paris. Named as Mohammed Amra, 30, he is understood to be the boss of a narcotics network who is known by the nickname “La Mouche”, which translates to “The Fly”.
Dramatic footage from the scene shows men wearing black sports clothes using automatic machine pistols, while horrified motorists look on.
The group then escaped with a large-scale nationwide manhunt ongoing. President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to find the perpetrators of the ambush, which has left a number other prison officers fighting for life.
Read the full piece here:
Maroosha Muzaffar15 May 2024 04:30
Wife of killed prison officer is five months pregnant
One of the killed officers had a wife and two children, while the other leaves behind a wife who is five months pregnant, France’s justice minister Eric Dupond-Moretti has said.
The perpetrators of the ambush during a transfer from a courthouse to a prison in Rouen “didn’t hesitate to shoot the prison officers using heavy weapons”, he said.
Mr Dupond-Moretti said he was travelling to Caen to meet the colleagues of the killed officers, adding: “Everything – and I mean everything – will be put in place to find the perpetrators of this vile crime. They are people for whom life has no value. They will be found and punished in a way proportionate to the crime.”
Holly Evans15 May 2024 04:00
Two officers killed and inmate ‘The Fly’ on the run after ambush
A suspected drugs boss nicknamed “The Fly” escaped when masked gunmen ambushed his prison van in northern France in a brazen attack that left two guards dead.
The horror unfolded at a motorway tollbooth at Incarville, near the town of Val-de-Reuil in Normandy, at around 9am local time on Tuesday.
Two officers were shot dead and three others were left seriously injured while the prisoner, named by French media as Mohamed Amra, ran free.
Read the full article here:
Holly Evans15 May 2024 03:00
Car used in the van attach was stolen
The car that initiated the prison van attack at the Incarville toll booth was a stolen Peugeot, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a press release.
The attackers fled in two vehicles which were later discovered abandoned and burnet out a short while later.
Holly Evans15 May 2024 02:00
Sparrowhawk plan activated to catch perpetrators
The police commander of the Eure has activated a “plan Epervier”, or Sparrowhawk plan, which has mobilised all units in the area.
“Everything will be done to find the perpetrators of this despicable crime”, justice minister Éric Dupond-Moretti said.
“[The perpetrators] are people for whom life has no value. They will be found and punished in a way proportionate to the crime.”
He specified that the last deaths in the French prison administration dated back to 1992.
Holly Evans15 May 2024 01:00
Everything we know about 'The Fly’
A suspected drug boss is being hunted by hundreds of police officers after he escaped when his prison van was ambushed by armed gunmen in France.
Two prison officers were shot dead while three others were seriously injured during the shooting, which occurred in broad daylight on a motorway around an hour from Paris.
Named as Mohammed Amra, 30, he is understood to be the boss of a narcotics network who is known by the nickname “La Mouche”, which translates to “The Fly”.
Read the full article here:
Holly Evans14 May 2024 23:30
‘Everything being done’ to find perpetrators, says Macron
France’s president Emmanuel Macron has vowed that “everything is being done to find the perpetrators” of the prison van ambush.
He wrote: “This morning’s attack, which cost the lives of prison officers, is a shock to us all. The Nation stands alongside the families, the injured and their colleagues. Everything is being done to find the perpetrators of this crime so that justice can be done in the name of the French people.
“We will be intractable.”
Holly Evans14 May 2024 22:30
Everything we know about 'The Fly': ‘Drug boss’ inmate on the run
Holly Evans14 May 2024 21:41
