July 2, 2018:

A notorious gangster who said his life of crime was inspired by films such as ‘Scarface’ pulled off a brazen jailbreak on Sunday, fleeing a Prison near Paris aboard a hijacked helicopter in a commando-style operation.

Redoine Faid, 46, broke out of Prison with the help of two accomplices who used smoke bombs and angle grinders to overcome wardens in facility’s visiting room where Faid was talking to a brother.

Men quickly made good their escape in Helicopter in an operation lasting just 10 minutes, Prison Unionist Martial Delabroye stated at the penitentiary in Reau in the French capital’s southeastern suburbs.

It is the second time Faid has pulled off a spectacular jailbreak in 2013, he had blasted his way out of a prison in Northern France using dynamite.

Helicopter was hijacked from a terrified flight instructor landed at around 11:15 am (0915 GMT) in Prison yard.

Two black-clad men armed with assault rifles set off smoke bombs before breaking their way into Prison’s visitation room using the power tools. The wardens, who were unarmed, fled to safety and raised the alarm.

Helicopter was later found in a northeastern suburb of Paris about 60 kilometres from the prison, one source said, adding that a manhunt has been launched across the entire Paris region.

Police Sources stated that the Helicopter pilot was a flight instructor waiting for a student when he was seized by Faid’s accomplices. He was forced to fly before being later freed in a state of shock.

Men apparently went on to use a car that was later found torched in a shopping mall carpark, police said.

Escape came after an appeals court in April sentenced Faid to 25 years for masterminding a botched armed robbery in 2010 in which a policewoman was killed.

Faid has been behind bars since mid-2011 for breaking terms of his parole over past convictions for bank robberies and brazen heists of cash-in-transit vehicles. In his 2013 jailbreak, he briefly took four guards hostage with a pistol before escaping in a waiting getaway car. All the hostages were released unharmed.

Faid was recaptured six weeks later at a hotel in an industrial area on the outskirts of Paris.

He had earlier been released from a 10-year stint behind bars after convincing parole officers that he regretted his criminal past and was determined to start afresh.

Police nicknamed him “The Author” for two books he co-wrote about his delinquent youth.

Source Hindustan Times

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