France prison van attack – live: 350 officers hunt ‘public enemies number one’ as The Fly remains at large

Hundreds of officers are hunting for “public enemies number one” as escaped French inmate ‘The Fly’ and four gunmen remain at large after a bloody attack that left two prison guards dead.

Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin told France 2 on Thursday that 350 investigators are still mobilised in France in the third day of the search, which he previously described as “unprecedented” when speaking on RTL radio.

Interpol on Wednesday said it issued an international arrest warrant, a ‘Red Notice’, for fugitive Mohamed Amra, 30, at the request of French authorities.

The suspected drug boss, nicknamed ‘La Mouche’ or ‘The Fly’, was being transported from a court hearing in Rouen to a secure jail in Evreux when his prison van was ambushed by four gunmen shortly after 11am on Tuesday.

The assailants killed two prison officers in machine gun fire, seriously injured three others, and sprung Amra, the convict the guards were escorting, on the A154 motorway in Val-de-Reuil in Normandy, before the five fled in two cars that were later found abandoned and burned.

Key Points

• Hundreds of officers hunt ‘public enemies number one’ as The Fly remains at large

• Interpol issues international arrest warrant for fugitive ‘The Fly’

• Amra could be caught ‘in the coming days’, reveals French interior minister

• Prison officers ‘slaughtered like dogs’ in France named

French PM vows on-the-run gang will be caught and ‘will pay'

15:00 , Tara Cobham

The French prime minister has vowed the on-the-run gang will be caught, saying, “They will pay.”

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said in parliament on Wednesday, to applause from lawmakers, “We are tracking you, we will find you and we will punish you.”

A massive search is still underway in France on Thursday for armed assailants who ambushed a prison convoy, killing two prison officers, seriously injuring three others and freeing the inmate ‘The Fly’ they were escorting.

Amra’s escape symbolises challenges French law enforcement faces combatting organised crime

14:02 , Tara Cobham

Mohamed Amra’s escape and violent history have made him a symbol of the challenges faced by French law enforcement in combatting organised crime and ensuring the security of high-risk prisoners.

Amra's extensive criminal record reads like a dark novel — armed violence, extortion, drug trafficking, and organized crime. He has been described as "versatile and opportunistic" by police, engaging in a range of criminal activities to bolster his income. This includes, according to Le Monde, orchestrating kidnappings and extortions from his cell using encrypted messaging apps like Signal.

The national search for "The Fly" continues as authorities remain determined to bring him back into custody, and the assailants to justice.

Everything we know about on the run ‘drug boss’ inmate ‘The Fly’

13:00 , Tara Cobham

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.

Holly Evans and Barney Davis report:

Mohammed Amra: What we know about ‘The Fly ‘on the run after France police van attack

Recap: Watch as emergency services attend deadly police van ambush

12:03 , Tara Cobham

International arrest warrant issued in manhunt for escaped French inmate ‘The Fly’

11:39 , Tara Cobham

An international arrest warrant has been issued for the inmate who escaped during an armed ambush in northern France on Tuesday. Interpol said it issued a red notice for Mohamed Amra at the request of the French authorities.

The suspected drugs boss, nicknamed “La Mouche”, or “The Fly”, was being transported from a court hearing in Rouen to a secure jail in Evreux when his prison van was ambushed by four armed attackers.

The assailants, armed with sub-machine guns, killed two prison officers, seriously injured three others and sprung Amra shortly after 11am local time on the A154 motorway in Val-de-Reuil in Normandy.

Read more here:

International arrest warrant issued in manhunt for escaped French inmate ‘The Fly’

Hundreds of officers hunt ‘public enemies number one’ as The Fly remains at large

10:21 , Tara Cobham

Hundreds of officers are hunting “public enemies number one” as escaped French inmate ‘The Fly’ and four gunmen remain at large after a bloody attack that left two prison guards dead.

Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin told France 2 on Thursday that 350 investigators are still mobilised in France in the third day of the search, which he previously described as “unprecedented” when speaking on RTL radio.

What is The Fly’s criminal history?

09:14 , Tara Cobham

Mohamed Amra, nicknamed ‘The Fly’, was born on 10 March, 1994, in Rouen, a port city on the Seine River. His adolescence was a colorful one, marked by early run-ins with the law. His first offences occurred between the ages of 11 and 14, involving violence, theft and extortion, according to the Paris public prosecutor. Growing up in a troubled environment in Normandy, he quickly became entangled in a life of crime.

By age 15, Amra was already infamous among local law enforcement. Recently sentenced for burglary by the judicial tribunal in Evreux on May 10, he is also under investigation for an attempted organized homicide in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray and a kidnapping that resulted in death. Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau stated that Amra had significant connections with Marseille's organized crime syndicates and was suspected of heading a drug trafficking network.

He was recently detained at the Val de Reuil prison center near Rouen following his recent sentencing for burglary. Previously, he was incarcerated at La Sante prison in Paris and Les Baumettes in Marseille. Despite not being classified as an inmate of the highest level of risk, he did require high security during his transfers, necessitating an escort of three guards, which was recently increased to five, according to officials.

Just days before his escape on Tuesday, Amra attempted to saw through the bars of his cell, leading to his placement in isolation, officials said. Guards had discovered he was using tape to conceal his actions, according to French media reports.

Why is fugitive Mohamed Amra nicknamed ‘The Fly’?

07:56 , Tara Cobham

A prisoner nicknamed "The Fly" has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy in which two guards were killed.

Mohamed Amra, 30, has a long and violent criminal history that has now culminated in a high-profile search.

Known as "La Mouche" (The Fly), Amra has also been referred to by other aliases such as "Yanis," "Momo," and "Schtroumpf" (Smurf).

According to French media, these nicknames reflect his elusive nature and extensive activities.

Fugitive ‘The Fly’ escaped in just two minutes as police faced ‘weapons of war’

07:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Fugitive Mohamed Amra was being transported from a court hearing in Rouen to a secure jail in Evreux when his prison van was ambushed by four gunmen shortly after 11am on Tuesday.

Fabrice Moello, a 52-year-old father of two, and Arnaud Garcia, a 35-year-old whose wife was five months pregnant, were killed in machine gun fire in Normandy, while three more guards were left seriously injured.

A waiting black Peugeot vehicle pulled out and rammed into the front of the van, bringing it to a sudden stop, said Paris state prosecutor Laure Beccuau.

Several men wearing balaclavas and equipped with military-grade weapons stepped out of the car and began firing at the van. The assailants were joined by a second crew who stepped out of a nearby Audi. The whole operation took place in around two minutes, officials said.

Frederic Liakhoff, secretary of the prison officer union FO-Justice at the penitentiary centre in Caen, told the AFP that the prison guards accompanying Amra were armed with “simple Sig Sauer [handguns] while they faced weapons of war”.

Footage taken by motorists appeared to show the men opening doors to the van before a man, believed to be Amra, stepped out.

As they fled, one member appeared to attempt to set alight the black Peugeot.

The gang then sped off in an Audi A5 and a BMW 5 series, which have since both been found abandoned and burned out.

CCTV shows moment gunmen ram French prison van and kill guards to free ‘drug-dealing’ inmate

06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The Fly: CCTV shows moment gunmen ram French prison van and kill guards

'The Fly’ has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?

06:00 , Holly Evans

A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.

Mohamed Amra, 30, has a long and violent criminal history that has now culminated in a high-profile search.

Known as “La Mouche” (The Fly), Amra has also been referred to by other aliases such as “Yanis,” “Momo,” and “Schtroumpf” (Smurf). According to French media, these nicknames reflect his elusive nature and extensive activities.

Thomas Adamson reports:

'The Fly’ has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?

Who are the officers shot dead?

05:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Two officers were shot dead and three others were left seriously injured when the prisoner known as “The Fly” escaped.

The suspected drug boss, Mohamed Amra, was being transported from a court hearing in Rouen to a secure jail in Evreux when his prison van was ambushed by four gunmen shortly after 11am on Tuesday.

The two men killed were identified as agents from the regional centre for judicial extractions, based in Caen.

Fabrice Moello, a 52-year-old father of two, and Arnaud Garcia, a 34-year-old whose wife was five months pregnant, were killed in machine gun fire in Normandy.

Prison workers across France on Wednesday held moments of silence to commemorate the officers killed.

“I haven’t closed my eyes all night. I cried so much that I have no more tears left in my body,” said Dominique Garcia, the father of the 34-year-old slain officer.

Hundreds of police officers pressed into action

05:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Hundreds of police officers have been deployed across northern France to find the fugitive gangster known as “The Fly”.

Interpol issued a Red Notice for fugitive Mohamed Amra on the second day of the hunt at the request of the French authorities.

French home minister Gerald Darmanin said the government had deployed unprecedented resources to capture the armed gang involved in breaking out Amra, including assistance from foreign countries. Around 450 officers were deployed to the Eure region where the attack took place.

“We are investing considerable resources, we are making a lot of progress,” he told RTL radio.

Across France, thousands of prison guards staged a symbolic 24-hour shut-down of jails in support of their slain colleagues.

Right-wing politicians slam Macron government: ‘Path to Mexicanisation’

04:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Right-wing politicians have targeted the French government over the deadly escape of notorious gangster “The Fly”.

They said the brazenness of the assault showed that the centrist government had lost its grip on drug crime, comparing France to countries with longstanding reputations for gang violence.

“We’re on a path to Mexicanisation,” Bruno Retailleau, leader of the main centre-right opposition party in the French senate, said.

“Prisons are sieves. Dealers run their drug trafficking businesses from jail.”

Far-right politician Marion Marechal posted a video on X of herself offering support to guards outside a prison in Bordeaux.

“We have the impression of being in a third-world country,” she said, after one of the guards asked how such a violent attack could take place in France.

“We are tracking you and we will find you,” France warns

04:00 , Holly Evans

The French prime minister Gabriel Attal warned the perpetrators that they will be caught.

“I say it again to the perpetrators: we are tracking you, we will find you and we will punish you,” the he told the Assembly.

How deadly France prison van ambush unfolded

03:49 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

As lorries and family-filled cars filed through the motorway toll station at Incarville in north west France, it felt like any other weekday morning.

But at just before 9am on Tuesday, drama suddenly unfolded as a gang of masked gunmen ambushed a prison convoy at the booth and freed a suspected drugs lord nicknamed “The Fly”.

Firing more than 30 rounds from automatic weapons, the assailants killed two prison guards and injured three more before fleeing with the inmate, 30-year-old Mohamed Amra, in a brazen attack witnessed by startled motorists on the A417 motorway near the town of Val-de-Reuil.

Alex Ross reports.

How deadly France prison van ambush unfolded as fugitive ‘The Fly’ remains on the run

‘Unprecedented’ manhunt underway for French suspects

02:00 , Holly Evans

A massive manhunt is underway in France for an armed gang that killed two prison officers and seriously injuring three others, to spring an inmate they were escorting.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said “unprecedented” efforts were deployed, with hundreds of officers mobilised in the search for the escaped convict Mohamed Amra and the assailants who ambushed the convoy transporting him on Tuesday.

Without giving full details about the extent of the manhunt, he said 450 officers had been deployed in the region of the attack to search for the assailants and clues about their whereabouts.

Video: Emergency services attend the scene of a deadly police van ambush

Thursday 16 May 2024 00:00 , Holly Evans

Image show moment black vehicle ramming prison van

Wednesday 15 May 2024 22:02 , Holly Evans

“We are tracking you and we will find you,” says Attal to the fleeing criminals

Wednesday 15 May 2024 21:30 , Holly Evans

Earlier today, the French prime minister Gabriel Attal warned the perpetrators that they will be caught.

“I say it again to the perpetrators: we are tracking you, we will find you and we will punish you,” the he told the Assembly.

Town opens fund to help fund funeral of killed prison officer

Wednesday 15 May 2024 20:25 , Holly Evans

The town hall of Chagny-le-Château has opened a fund to help the family finance the funeral of the prison officer, who was killed in the attack.

While they have not been named, one has been identified as a father-of-two, while the second officer’s wife is five months pregnant.

Read the full story: International arrest warrant issued in manhunt for escaped inmate ‘The Fly’

Wednesday 15 May 2024 18:50 , Holly Evans

An international arrest warrant has been issued as the manhunt for escaped inmate ‘The Fly’ continues, with France’s prime minister vowing the fugitive “will pay”.

Interpol issued a Red Notice for fugitive Mohamed Amra on the second day of the hunt at the request of the French authorities.

The suspected drug boss, nicknamed ‘La Mouche’, was being transported from a court hearing in Rouen to a secure jail in Evreux on Tuesday when his prison van was ambushed by four armed attackers who left a bloodbath in their wake.

Read the full article here:

International arrest warrant issued in manhunt for escaped French inmate ‘The Fly’

'The Fly’ has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?

Wednesday 15 May 2024 17:11 , Tara Cobham

A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.

Mohamed Amra, 30, has a long and violent criminal history that has now culminated in a high-profile search.

Known as “La Mouche” (The Fly), Amra has also been referred to by other aliases such as “Yanis,” “Momo,” and “Schtroumpf” (Smurf). According to French media, these nicknames reflect his elusive nature and extensive activities.

Thomas Adamson reports:

'The Fly’ has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?

Who is ‘The Fly’, the French fugitive on the run after a prison van assault?

Wednesday 15 May 2024 15:33 , Tara Cobham

Hundreds of police are scouring northern France for Mohamed Amra, a fugitive known as "The Fly" who was freed by gunmen in a brazen attack against a prison van that killed two guards and wounded three.

Here's what we know about Amra:

• The 30-year-old was born in the northern French city of Rouen and has a formidable rap sheet, with 13 convictions, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Tuesday. His first conviction came in 2009, when he was just 15.

Beccuau said most of his convictions had been handed down by courts in northern France, but he had also served time in jails in Paris and Marseille. She said many of his convictions were for burglary.

"To date, his criminal record does not mention any conviction for drug violations," she said.

• Police sources told Reuters Amra was a mid-level player in France's drug trade, with links to Marseille's powerful "Blacks" gang. The Paris prosecutor's office said he had been indicted by prosecutors in Marseille, the epicentre of France's drug trade, for gangland murder.

The Interpol Red Notice said he was suspected of the "acquisition, detention, transportation, offering or disposal of narcotics".

Amra was convicted of burglary by a court in Evreux on 10 May and was being held at the Val de Reuil prison. A few days before his escape, he had tried to saw his way out of his cell, officials said.

• On Tuesday morning, Amra was on his way to a meeting with an investigating judge when his two-vehicle convoy approached a toll booth in Incarville in the Eure region of northern France.

At 10.57am, a Peugeot car that had been stolen a few days earlier rammed into the front of one of the prison vans, Beccuau said. Armed men got out of the Peugeot and were joined by another crew who got out of an Audi, before they opened fire on the two vans. Two officers were killed and three critically wounded. The assailants then sped off with Amra.

Two burned out vehicles that were found nearby are now undergoing forensic examination, Beccuau said.

Attack came as Senate warns France faces ‘tipping point’ from rising violence

Wednesday 15 May 2024 14:15 , Tara Cobham

Tuesday's attack came on the same day that France's Senate released a major report on drug trafficking, warning that the country faced a "tipping point" from rising violence.

The report recommended the creation of a French version of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to combat a powerful national drug trade with annual turnover of 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion).

Interpol issues international arrest warrant for fugitive ‘The Fly’

Wednesday 15 May 2024 14:05 , Tara Cobham

Interpol has issued an international arrest warrant for the escaped French prisoner nicknamed ‘The Fly’ at the request of France’s authorities.

The intergovernmental organisation said in a statement on X on Wednesday that a ‘Red Notice’ search warrant has been issued for fugitive Mohamed Amra.

Hundreds of police fanned out across northern France on a massive manhunt for the on-the-run inmate on Wednesday, a day after he was sprung from a prison van by gunmen in an attack that killed two prison guards.

Prison workers hold moments of silence outside prisons to commerorate killed officers

Wednesday 15 May 2024 13:30 , Tara Cobham

Prison workers held moments of silence Wednesday outside jails in Paris and elsewhere to commemorate the officers who were gunned down in France on Tuesday.

The violence of the attack has shocked the nation.

Amra could be caught ‘in the coming days’, reveals French interior minister

Wednesday 15 May 2024 12:45 , Tara Cobham

The French interior minister has expressed hope that Mohamed Amra could be caught “in the coming days”.

Without giving full details about the extent of the manhunt, Gerald Darmanin told RTL radio: “The means employed are considerable. We are progressing a lot.”

‘Unprecedented’ manhunt underway for gunmen and fugitive

Wednesday 15 May 2024 12:00 , Tara Cobham

A massive manhunt is underway in France for an armed gang that killed two prison officers and seriously injuring three others, to spring an inmate they were escorting.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said "unprecedented" efforts were deployed, with hundreds of officers mobilised in the search for the escaped convict Mohamed Amra and the assailants who ambushed the convoy transporting him on Tuesday.

Without giving full details about the extent of the manhunt, he said 450 officers had been deployed in the region of the attack to search for the assailants and clues about their whereabouts.

How deadly France prison van ambush unfolded as ‘The Fly’ remains on the run

Wednesday 15 May 2024 11:08 , Tara Cobham

As lorries and family-filled cars filed through the motorway toll station at Incarville in north west France, it felt like any other weekday morning.

But at just before 9am on Tuesday, drama suddenly unfolded as a gang of masked gunmen ambushed a prison convoy at the booth and freed a suspected drugs lord nicknamed “The Fly”.

Firing more than 30 rounds from automatic weapons, the assailants killed two prison guards and injured three more before fleeing with the inmate, 30-year-old Mohamed Amra, in a brazen attack witnessed by startled motorists on the A417 motorway near the town of Val-de-Reuil.

Alex Ross reports:

How deadly France prison van ambush unfolded as fugitive ‘The Fly’ remains on the run

Manhunt for killers continues as prosecutors probe murder

Wednesday 15 May 2024 10:30 , Tara Cobham

The manhunt for the killers is being led by the GIPN, the elite Gendarme National Intervention Group.

Prosecutors working for the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organised Crime (JUNALCO) have opened an enquiry into ‘murder and attempted murder by an organised gang’ – offences punishable with a life sentence.

They are also investigating escape in an organised gang', 'acquisition and possession of weapons of war' and 'criminal association with a view to the commission of a crime'.

Prison officers unions staged protests on Wednesday morning, saying their work was becoming increasingly dangerous.

It follows a Paris Senate report highlighting the 'Mexicanisation' of the French drugs trade, with gangs becoming increasingly powerful.

Amra has been linked with one based in Marseilles called 'The Blacks'.

Gendarme reservist who lives near toll both heard ‘very intense series of gunshots'

Wednesday 15 May 2024 10:00 , Tara Cobham

A gendarme reservist who lives close to the Incarville toll booth said they heard “a very intense series of gunshots” during the attack on the police convoy.

They said: “I was in my garden when it happened.

“I heard a first series of around thirty shots from automatic weapons. A very intense series of gunshots. Then, nothing more.

“The calm lasted a minute, maybe two. Then I heard a very loud bang that sounded like a grenade, followed by two final shots and then that was it.”

One of the unidentified attackers was lightly injured, before the gang sped off in an an Audi A5 and a BMW 5 series, which have since both been found abandoned and burned out.

Amra under ‘special surveillance’ but not considered terrorist suspect, confirms justice minister

Wednesday 15 May 2024 09:30 , Tara Cobham

Mohamed Amra, who has a total of 13 convictions to his name, was under “special surveillance” but not considered radicalised or a terrorist suspect, French justice minister Éric Dupond-Moretti confirmed on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old is reportedly well known to the police as the boss of a narcotics network and has already been indicted in connection with an execution.

A police source said: “He is suspected of having ordered an assassination in Marseille on 17 June, 2022.

“The charred corpse of a man was found in a burned vehicle, in the town of Le Rove, bordering Marseille. The victim had obviously been executed beforehand with a bullet to the head.”

Amra was indicted for kidnapping and sequestration leading to death by Marseille police, said a spokesman for the Paris prosecutor’s office.

Moment gunmen ram French prison van and kill guards to free inmate captured on CCTV

Wednesday 15 May 2024 09:07 , Tara Cobham

Masked gunmen ambushed a French prison van, killing two guards, to free a suspected drug dealer on Tuesday, 14 May.

CCTV footage showed an SUV ramming into the prison van at a toll booth before men attacked it with automatic weapons and took an inmate out of the vehicle before setting it on fire and fleeing the scene.

A major manhunt was triggered by the incident in Val-de-Reuil in the Eure region.

The inmate is Mohamed Amra - also known as “The Fly”, a 30-year-old drug dealer from northern France, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office and police sources.

He was convicted of burglary on 10 May and was being held at the Val-de-Reuil prison.

Holly Patrick reports:

Moment gunmen ram French prison van and kill guards to free inmate captured on CCTV

Prison officers ‘slaughtered like dogs’ in France named

Wednesday 15 May 2024 08:13 , Tara Cobham

Two prison officers who were “slaughtered like dogs” in a murderous attack on a police convoy in France were today named for the first time as the hunt for their killers continued.

Fabrice Moello, a 52-year-old father of two, and Arnaud Garcia, a 35-year-old whose wife was five months pregnant, were riddled with machine gun fire on Tuesday morning.

They were part of a convoy bringing Mohammed Amra – a suspected drugs lord nicknamed 'The Fly' who is 30 – back to his cell from a court appearance in the Normandy capital of Rouen.

By Wednesday morning, he was still on the run with four other men responsible for the bloodbath at a motorway toll booth close to the town of Val-de-Reuil.

Releasing horrific new details of the killings, French justice minister Éric Dupond-Moretti, said Mr Moello and Mr Garcia - who both came from Caen - were “slaughtered like dogs by men for whom life means nothing”. Surveillance cameras captured the chilling executions, which included automatic weapons firing more than 30 rounds.

At one point a member of the gang – who were all wearing black sports apparel with their hoods up – made sure a victim was dead with a “double tap” shot to the head.

Some officers managed to grab their service pistols, but they were no match for the gang's immense firepower.

Three wounded officers remain in intensive care, one with a bullet in the forehead, said Mr Dupond-Moretti.

Everything we know about ‘drug boss’ inmate on the run after armed ambush

Wednesday 15 May 2024 08:00 , Tara Cobham

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.

Holly Evans reports:

Mohammed Amra: What we know about ‘The Fly ‘on the run after France police van attack

Prison unions in France call for ‘blockade’ of prisons in support of two dead officers

Wednesday 15 May 2024 07:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

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”.

Images show moment black vehicles ram prison van

Wednesday 15 May 2024 07:00 , Holly Evans

Video footage has been shared on the BBC of the moment a black vehicle rams a prison van carrying inmate Mohamed Amra, which resulted in the deaths of two prison officers.

Other images shared on social media showed hooded gunmen approaching the vehicle carrying automatic machine pistols.

ICYMI: France prison van attack: Two officers killed and inmate ‘The Fly’ on the run after ambush

Wednesday 15 May 2024 06:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

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.

Shocking footage showed the hooded attackers firing automatic machine guns at the prison van, that had been stopped by a black car ploughing into its front.

As the gunmen surrounded the vehicle, another video captured one of them opening a door before the detainee was released in full view of shocked motorists.

Read the full piece here:

France prison van attack: Two officers killed and inmate The Fly on run after ambush

Emergency services attend deadly police van ambush as prisoner escapes in France

Wednesday 15 May 2024 06:00 , Holly Evans

Amra not a ‘big fish’ but a ‘middle-of-the-road’ player, police sources tell Le Monde

Wednesday 15 May 2024 05:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Mohamed Amra was described as a “middle-of-the-road, freelance, opportunistic” criminal rather than a “big fish”, according to police and judicial sources cited by France’s Le Monde.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed at a press conference that Amra’s most recent sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment was given on 7 May by the Evreux criminal court for aggravated theft. Before that, on 14 April 2020, he was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for motorised rodeos by the same court.

Amra, 30, was being transported from a court hearing in Rouen to a secure jail in Evreux when the fatal attack on prison officers unfolded, shortly after 11am, on the A154 motorway in Val-de-Reuil in Normandy.

Mohamed Amra’s lawyer says he was ‘perfectly normal’ during morning meeting

Wednesday 15 May 2024 05:00 , Holly Evans

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.”

Prison unions in France call for ‘blockade’ of prisons in support of two dead officers

Wednesday 15 May 2024 04:49 , Maroosha Muzaffar

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”.

Everything we know about The Fly: ‘Drug boss’ inmate on the run after two French prison officers shot dead

Wednesday 15 May 2024 04:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

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.

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Mohammed Amra: What we know about ‘The Fly ‘on the run after France police van attack

Wife of killed prison officer is five months pregnant

Wednesday 15 May 2024 04:00 , Holly Evans

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.”

Two officers killed and inmate ‘The Fly’ on the run after ambush

Wednesday 15 May 2024 03:00 , Holly Evans

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:

France prison van attack: Two officers killed and inmate The Fly on run after ambush

Car used in the van attach was stolen

Wednesday 15 May 2024 02:00 , Holly Evans

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.

Sparrowhawk plan activated to catch perpetrators

Wednesday 15 May 2024 01:00 , Holly Evans

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.

Everything we know about 'The Fly’

Tuesday 14 May 2024 23:30 , Holly Evans

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:

Mohammed Amra: What we know about ‘The Fly ‘on the run after France police van attack

‘Everything being done’ to find perpetrators, says Macron

Tuesday 14 May 2024 22:30 , Holly Evans

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.”