02 July,2018 10:17 AM IST | Paris | Agencies
The helicopter was later found in a northeastern suburb. Pics/AFP
A notorious career thief who was once France's most-wanted man pulled off a daring jailbreak yesterday, fleeing a prison in the Paris area by helicopter, officials said.
Redoine Faid, 46, broke out of the prison in Reau in the city's southeastern suburbs within minutes, helped by a number of heavily-armed men, sources close to the case said. He fled with three accomplices, according to the sources. The helicopter was later found in a northeastern suburb of the French capital, they said, adding that a police search has been launched across the entire Paris region.
Redoine Faid (inset) broke out of the prison in Reau.
It was the second time Faid has pulled off a spectacular jailbreak - in 2013, he blasted his way out of a prison in northern France using dynamite before being recaptured six weeks later. Prior to this, he had been released from a previous stint of a decade behind bars after convincing parole officials that he regretted his criminal past and was determined to start afresh.
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An appeals court sentenced Faid to 25 years in April for masterminding a May 2010 armed robbery that turned into a gunfight, in which a policewoman was killed. Faid, who grew up in tough immigrant suburbs outside Paris, has made several television appearances and co-authored two books about his delinquent youth and rise as a criminal in the Paris suburbs. He said his life of crime was inspired by American films such as Scarface and Heat.
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