What update on hunt for prisoner who escaped four months ago in France?

A convicted criminal who escaped in France after an armed attack on the prison vehicle he was travelling in, is still on the run four months later.

Mohamed Amra, a repeat offender and suspected drug ring head, was travelling in a penitentiary vehicle on May 14 in Eure (Normandy) when four armed men charged the van at the Incarville péage barrier. They shot at officers, and transferred Mr Amra to their vehicle. Two officers were killed and three were injured in the incident.

Read also: Two killed as prison van ambushed on French motorway, inmate on run 

Amra was being transported from the Rouen judicial court to his prison cell in Evreux.

President Emmanuel Macron posted on X (formerly Twitter) about the attack at the time, saying “everything would be done to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice.”

But despite extensive and continuing inquiries, the location of Amra and the four armed men who attacked the prison vehicle, remains unknown. 

Investigators now think they come from Amra’s region of origin, Normandy. They initially believed they could come from Amra’s connections in Marseille, but this has been ruled out.

‘Extreme mobilisation’

“I'm confident we'll find him, the question is when,” said a source close to the case, to 20 Minutes. 

Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau last week reiterated the “extreme mobilisation” of all investigators, with up to 350 people initially working on the case, she told RTL. This has now dropped to a select team of 50, she said, adding: “I have no reason to believe that Mr Amra is not [alive still].”

Interpol, headquartered in the French city of Lyon, sent out a 'Red Notice' relating to the suspect. It alerts all members of the Interpol network that a person is wanted, and acts as a formal request for the person to be arrested and extradited back to the country who issued the notice. 

The notice provides additional information for international police networks to help find the individual, including their name, date of birth, nationality, hair and eye colour, photographs and fingerprints if available. It also provides further information on their criminal activity. 

Read also: Hunt for escaped French prisoner: Interpol issues ‘red notice’ alert 

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said in May that “unprecedented... judicial police resources” are being mobilised in the search. This includes members of the highly specialised national police unit GIGN (Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale).

“What we must denounce is the barbarism with which these police were killed - these family men, these guards - in cold blood,” said the minister.

This type of case usually requires large-scale investigations - although some cases are solved with a hefty dose of luck, as in the discovery of armed robber Rédoine Faïd during a routine gendarmerie check.

“They were extremely well prepared and left very few traces behind them,” the source added.

Initial investigations at the scene did not reveal anything decisive, the prosecutor said, and the vehicle used in the attack has also not been found, despite investigators calling for witnesses.

‘Map and phone lines’

Investigators are now working on a “map of Amra's ‘environment”, which charts his family, friends and criminal circle, in a bid to identify people who he could turn to while on the run.

Police are also looking at phone lines, including all those that were connected in the area around the vehicles at the time of the attack. The aim is that this will pinpoint how the attackers were communicating, or - at the very least - identify some numbers of members of the gang.

However, police have said that the case is very challenging, because the criminals have “adapted to our methods”. “They no longer talk on the phone, they all use VPNs and use encrypted messaging,” said the prosecutor. 

It is hoped that the criminals will eventually make a mistake that could lead to their discovery, such as calling someone on the wrong line, or holding a quick “ill-prepared” meeting. Similarly, investigators have not ruled out that Amra could be discovered via an anonymous tip-off from ‘enemies’ he may have in another criminal gang.

Who is Mohamed Amra?

Amra is 30, and is said to be the head of a drug smuggling ring in France. Nicknamed ‘The Fly’, he was recently sentenced to 18 months in prison at a hearing in Évreux for aggravated theft.

He has also previously been implicated in other cases across France, including for kidnapping and attempted murder.

He required a ‘level 3 escort’, which is why he was being accompanied by five prison officers on his trip from court to prison.