French police have arrested 10 people suspected of assisting Mohamed Amra, a notorious convict who was captured in Romania nine months after escaping in a dramatic ambush that left two prison officers dead.
The arrests were announced on Sunday by Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, who stated that the detainees are believed to have played roles in both the planning and execution of the escape, as well as in hiding the fugitive.
Amra, who had been labelled “public enemy number one,” was arrested near a shopping centre in Bucharest on Saturday after being identified through facial recognition tools and fingerprint analysis.
The high-profile escape took place in May 2024, when heavily armed attackers ambushed a prison van transporting Amra in northern France.
The assault, carried out with military-grade weapons, resulted in the deaths of two prison officers, while three others were wounded.
The attack was caught on CCTV, sparking a nationwide manhunt with over 300 investigators assigned to track down Amra, who is also known by the alias “La Mouche” (The Fly).
Amra has an extensive criminal record dating back to when he was 15 years old. He has been convicted of multiple violent crimes and is suspected of ordering assassinations from prison.
At the time of his escape, he was already facing charges of attempted murder and participation in a gangland killing in Marseille, a city notorious for drug trafficking and gang violence.
Following his capture, Romanian authorities confirmed that Amra had altered his appearance, including dyeing his hair, in an attempt to evade detection.
He is expected to appear before a magistrate in Romania, who will decide on his extradition to France, where he faces serious charges related to both his escape and past crimes.
With the latest arrests, French authorities continue their investigation into the criminal network that aided his high-profile breakout, as they work to bring all accomplices to justice.
