CCTV video shows France prison van attack
STORY: :: CCTV footage shows masked gunmen ambushing
a van to free a drug dealer in northern France
:: Val-de-Reuil, France
:: May 14, 2024
:: Two prison guards were killed in the
incident, triggering a major manhunt
In the video, a black SUV is seen ramming into a van at a toll booth, with gunmen aiming automatic weapons at the van, removing the inmate known as "The Fly", and setting the SUV on fire before fleeing the scene.
Reuters was able to independently verify the location by comparing the wall, buildings, and roof to matching file imagery, and the damaged vehicles to corroborating eyewitness video from the scene.
The attack in Val-de-Reuil in the Eure region of northern France highlights the growing threat of drug-related crimes across Europe, the world's number one cocaine market.
The fugitive inmate Mohamed Amra is a 30-year-old drug dealer from northern France, according to the Paris prosecutor's office and police sources. He was convicted of burglary by a court in Evreux on May 10 and was being held at the Val-de-Reuil prison.
Amra had previously been indicted in Marseille for a kidnapping that led to a death, the Paris prosecutor's office said. According to a police source in Marseille, Amra was a drug dealer with ties to the city's powerful "Blacks" gang.
