Notorious French Gangster Escapes From Prison In A Helicopter In Daring Jailbreak

A gangster who was previously France’s most wanted man has escaped from his Paris prison in a helicopter.
Heavily armed men helped Redoine Faid escape the jail in Reau in the daring jailbreak on Sunday. The escape lasted a matter of minutes, with three accomplices flying away from the area along with 46-year-old Faid, sources said.

A police manhunt has since been launched across the entire Paris region – with the aircraft later found in Gonesse, north of Paris.

Incredibly, it’s not the first time Faid has been involved in a spectacular jailbreak.

In 2013, he used dynamite to blow his way out of a prison in northern France, and remained on the run for six weeks.

Faid, a notorious career thief, once managed to talk his way out of a 10-year sentence by convincing parole officials he was a changed man who regretted his past actions.

But in April, he was sentenced to 25 years for masterminding a May 2010 armed robbery that turned into a gunfight, killing a female police officer.


Faid said his life of crime was inspired by films such as Scarface, and has co-authored two books about his time in gangs in the suburbs of Paris.