On Wednesday, a significant manhunt was in progress in France for armed assailants who ambushed a prison convoy, resulting in the deaths of two prison officers, the severe injuries of three others, and the escape of the inmate they were escorting. The prime minister declared, “They will pay,” in protest of the gang’s imminent capture.
To the acclaim of the legislators in parliament, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal declared, “We are monitoring you; we will locate you and punish you.” “Retribution has been due to their actions.”
Gerald Darmanin, the French minister of the interior, declared that “unprecedented” endeavors were being undertaken. In order to aid in the pursuit of Mohamed Amra, the escaped convict, and the perpetrators who ambushed the prison vehicle that was transporting him on Tuesday before opening fire, hundreds of officers were dispatched.
In response to France’s request for the arrest of Amra, a 30-year-old individual, Interpol, the international police organization, announced on Wednesday that it had issued a red notice.
According to Interpol, “A red notice has been issued in response to a request from French authorities regarding escaped prisoner Mohamed Amra, also known as ‘The Fly’.” A red notice is a global appeal to law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend a person who is being pursued.
According to the notice, Amra is approximately six feet tall and possesses dark brown eyes, wavy brown hair, and a beard.
France was astonished by the brutality of the attack. On Wednesday, prison personnel observed moments of silence outside of correctional facilities in Paris and other locations in honor of the deceased officers.
In a radio interview with RTL on Wednesday, Darmanin expressed confidence that Amra could be apprehended “in the coming days.” He claimed that 450 officers had been deployed in the vicinity of the attack in Normandy, northern France, to locate the perpetrators and gather information about their whereabouts. However, he did not specify the extent of the manhunt.
He declared that “a wide range of methods are employed.” “A significant amount of progress is being achieved.”
It appeared as though the assault had been meticulously premeditated. Following a hearing with an investigator in Rouen, the convoy was ambushed on the A154 freeway as it was transporting Amra back to prison in the Normandy town of Évreux.
As the prison van and another prison escort vehicle had just passed through a toll plaza on the interstate, a car collided with it head-on. The Paris prosecutor’s office has reported that the vehicle was stolen and passed through the toll booth before the prison procession, where it remained for a brief period.
The convoy was effectively encircled by an additional vehicle that followed it. According to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, prosecutors emerged from the vehicles, fired, and sprayed the penitentiary vehicles.
Subsequently, Amra and the perpetrators fled. According to Beccuau, two charred vehicles were subsequently discovered and are presently under investigation.
According to Beccuau, one of the deceased officers was a 52-year-old penitentiary service commander who had been with the organization for nearly three decades and was the father of two children. According to her, the other officer who was killed was a 34-year-old married father who was expecting a child.
She asserted that Amra, who is thirty years old, has a lengthy criminal record, having been convicted of at least thirteen offenses, including larceny, at the age of fifteen.
A prisoner who has been exiled and has a history of violent offenses
According to judicial sources, Amra has a long history of convictions for violent offenses, which began at the age of 15.
The 30-year-old inmate from Rouen, located in the northwestern region of France, was reported to be known as “La Mouche” (The Fly). He was still at large on Wednesday, one day after two prison officers were allegedly murdered at a toll station and two accomplices escaped the scene with him.
Three additional prison officers were also injured in the assault, with one of them being compelled to fight for his life.
He is well-known to the judiciary,” stated Laure Beccuau, the chief prosecutor of Paris, in an interview with reporters.
Amra is suspected of directing homicides associated with the drug trade and is involved in organized crime, according to an additional source who requested anonymity and has firsthand knowledge of the situation.
Amra is the proprietor of his own narcotic trafficking network, according to a second source who requested anonymity.
Nevertheless, Beccuau, the investigator responsible for the interstate attack, stated that none of his thirteen prior convictions—including extortion and armed robbery—were explicitly associated with the narcotics business.
Criminal conspiracy, extortion, robbery, armed violence, and participation in an unlawful motor rodeo were among the numerous offenses that were brought against him during his January 2022 incarceration in Evreux prison in the northwestern region of Normandy.
The most recent felony conviction, which was for robbery, was not rendered until last week.
Additionally, he was challenged with two additional charges during his evasion: attempted murder and involvement in a gangland slaying that occurred in Marseille, a southern city located on the French Riviera, a notorious hub for illicit drug trade and gang activity.
