How escaped French drug kingpin evaded capture for months

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Paris

Managing to stay "one step ahead" of investigators, drug trafficker Mohamed Amra managed to evade capture for nine months following a deadly jail break one year ago that shocked France.

His escape left two prison officers dead and triggered a massive manhunt for a man dubbed "la Mouche" (The Fly).

On the run for nine months, he was only re-arrested in February near a shopping centre in Romania's capital, Bucharest, then extradited to France.

On the one-year anniversary of the attack, French President Emmanuel Macron will on Wednesday pay tribute to the first prison officers killed in France in the line of duty since 1992, visiting the families of the victims.

On May 14, 2024, a car crashed head-on into a prison van at a toll booth in France's northern Normandy region.

Moments later, a second car pulled up and four armed men jumped out, killing prison officers Arnaud Garcia and Fabrice Moello and leaving three others wounded.

At the time of the deadly ambush, Amra already had a long history of convictions for violent crimes that started when he was only 15.

'Net closed in'

So, when the assailants whisked the 30-year-old Normandy native into a waiting vehicle, French authorities launched a massive manhunt to track down the man described as "public enemy number one".

But a source close to the case said Amra was "always one step ahead".

Public prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed that the Frenchman had been holed up in the city of Compiegne, then headed further north to Rouen before eventually making his way to eastern Europe.

A network of accomplices suspected of helping finance the escape, including a childhood friend of Amra and rapper Koba LaD, allegedly aided the fugitive stay off the authorities' radar.

Even so, "the net gradually closed in," said Beccuau, with the escapee arrested by Romanian authorities nine months after his getaway.

Authorities then intensified the search for those who aided him in his escape from France to the eastern European country, arresting more than three dozen alleged accomplices.

Among those arrested are the six suspected attackers in the May 2024 assault found as far afield as Thailand, Morocco and Spain – one of whom died in an accident in November.

But a lawyer for one of the accused said there are "real doubts" about their involvement, with some "categorically denying the charges".

As for Amra, his lawyer said, "no one can claim to know his role".

"The fact that he benefited from the escape doesn't necessarily mean he planned it or knew what methods would be used," said Lucas Montagnier.

High-security units

In February, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin promised the creation of "prison police" units and a "high security prison", in response to concerns that it has become too easy for convicted criminals to continue their business despite being locked up, thanks notably to mobile phone access.

Amra was suspected of ordering hits from prison, including in the months leading up to his breakout, when a close associate issued a warning that "the Fly" was giving someone called "A" a week to pay up, or else.

In late April, lawmakers approved a major new bill to combat drug-related crime, with some of France's most dangerous drug traffickers facing being locked up in high-security units in prison in the coming months.

The high-security units are designed to limit the capacity to continue their criminal activity behind bars, but lawyers have raised concerns about defendants' rights.