Mohamed Amra (born 10 March 1994), also known as "The Fly" (French: La Mouche), is a French criminal. He has been indicted for several crimes, including kidnapping that resulted in death. French police suspect that Amra is a drug lord involved in international drug trafficking and has links to "The Blacks", a powerful gang in Marseille.
Mohamed Amra | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 March 1994 Rouen, Normandy, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Other names | La Mouche (The Fly) Momo Yanis Schtroumpf (Smurf)[1] |
| Escaped | 14 May 2024 |
In May 2024, he escaped from a prison van during an armed ambush that killed two prison officers, and has not been apprehended.
Early life
editAmra was born on 10 March 1994 in Rouen, the capital of Normandy.[2] He grew up in the Sandpit council estate of the city.[3]
Criminal career
editAmra grew up in a troubled environment, and ended up engaging in criminal activities. According to prosecutors, he committed his first crimes between the ages of 11 and 14, which ranged from theft to extortion and violence.[4] Amra was first convicted of a crime in October 2009, at the age of 15.[5]
Since then, he has garnered 13 convictions for robbery, extortion, criminal conspiracy, armed violence, and other crimes. In January 2022, he was jailed in Évreux prison to serve several sentences for these convictions. Police and prosecutors have suspected Amra of heading a narcotics network and holding significant links to organized crime groups in Marseille, however none of his convictions are drug-related.[6][4] He is not considered radicalized or suspected of terrorism by law enforcement.[7]
Among his convictions are an attempted murder charge.[6] In 2022, he was indicted for involvement in a gang-related kidnapping that resulted in death in Marseille.[2] Amra has been described by Reuters as a "mid-level" player in the drug trade in France, while French media linked him to powerful Marseille-based crime syndicate "The Blacks".[6] French news agency Le Monde has described him in the "middle-of-the-pack of the gangster hierarchy".[2] According to police, Amra has been involved in the international drug trade.[8] However, his lawyer, Hugues Vivier,[a] has disputed these accusations.[5]
On 14 April 2020, he was sentenced to three months in prison by the Evreux Correctional Court for "motorized rodeos". Two years later, on 5 January, he was sentenced to three years for several crimes, including extortion, gang theft, and burglary.[10]
On 7 May 2024, Amra was detained at the Val de Reuil prison after he was found guilty for burglary and given a prison sentence of 18 months.[11][5] The burglaries, which occurred in 2019, consisted of Amra breaking into supermarkets and restaurants and stealing around 200 bottles of alcoholic beverages and around €7,500 in cash.[3] He is suspected of using Signal, an encrypted messaging app, to organize kidnappings and extortions through his cell.[12] He required high security during transfers despite not being seen as a high-risk inmate, with his escorts initially consisting of three guards but later being increased to five. Amra attempted to escape detention by sawing through his prison cell's bars and using tape to conceal it, but was caught by guards and placed in solitary confinement as a result.[4][8]
Escape
edit
On 14 May 2024, Amra was being transported to Évreux prison following a court hearing in Rouen. At 10:57 a.m, the convoy was ambushed at the Incarville tollbooth on the A154 freeway, 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of Rouen.[11][12] CCTV footage showed a black Peugeot 5008, which had earlier been reported stolen, ram a white prison van head-on while it passed through the tollbooth. Another prison vehicle which followed the van got stuck. Two men then exited the Peugeot, while two other men exited a white Audi A5 which had been following the convoy. The men, masked with balaclavas and wearing black sports apparel,[13] began to open fire at the convoy with automatic rifles. Between 30 and 40 shots were fired at the guards, who were armed with SIG Sauer handguns.[8][6] The ambush lasted for at least two minutes, before the gunmen fled with Amra in the Audi and a BMW 5 Series vehicle,[14][7] which were later burned at other locations.[6]
Two prison officers were killed in the shooting, while three others were seriously wounded, including one in critical condition. The incident was the first time French prison officers were killed on duty since 1992.[5] One of the officers killed was described by Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau as a "captain in the prison service".[15] One of the gunmen fired a double tap shot into a victim's head to confirm their death.[7]
Vivier told BFM TV that he was shocked about the jailbreak, and saw Amra as "perfectly normal". Vivier said that he would like to believe that Amra did not plan the escape as it did not match what he knew of him.[9]
Right-wing politicians said that the incident showed that the centrist French government could not control drug crime and compared France to other nations with rampant gang violence. Centre-right opposition leader Bruno Retailleau said, "We're on a path to Mexicanisation," while far-right Marion Marechal offered condolences to the guards and said that the ambush gave France the impression of being in a third-world country.[16]
Manhunt
editMore than 450 police officers and gendarmes were deployed in Eure to take part in the manhunt for Amra and the gunmen who freed him. Roadblocks were set up in northwestern France.[9] Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said, "We are progressing a lot" in the manhunt, and expressed hope that he could be caught in the coming days.[17] There are fears that he will attempt to cross the border into the Maghreb or Spain, according to gendarme general Jacques Morel.[18] On the third day of the search, Darmanin said that over 350 investigators were mobilized to participate.[19]
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal vowed to find and punish the gang, saying "They will pay for what they have done," and President Emmanuel Macron said on X (formerly Twitter) that, "We will be uncompromising." Darmanin said that unprecedented efforts were being taken to ensure the gang's arrest.[20]
Interpol issued a red notice, a request for international police to locate and arrest a suspect,[9][20] but clarified that it was not an international arrest warrant.[5]
Footnotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?". Washington Post. 15 May 2024. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c "France prison van attack: All we know about deadly ambush and manhunt". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b Paris, Adam Sage (15 May 2024). "Who is Mohamed 'the Fly' Amra? France's most wanted criminal". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c "'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?". Toronto City News. 15 May 2024. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mohamed Amra: Who is The Fly, the French prisoner who escaped in deadly ambush?". CNN. 15 May 2024. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "What we know about France's 'The Fly' and his deadly prison van escape". France 24. 15 May 2024. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c Ross, Alex (15 May 2024). "Mohamed Amra: How deadly France prison van ambush unfolded as suspected drugs lord nicknamed 'The Fly' remains on the run". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c "France prison van attack: Inmate Mohamed Amra on the run after guards killed in ambush". Sky News. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Prisoner escapes after two prison officers killed in attack in Rouen". BBC News. 14 May 2024. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ "EN DIRECT - Fourgon attaqué dans l'Eure : certains agents ont "pu faire usage de leur arme à feu" pour se défendre". Le Figaro (in French). 14 May 2024. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b "2 officers killed, inmate escapes after deadly ambush in France". Fox News. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Who is Mohamed Amra, the dangerous drug trafficker who escaped from a prison van leaving two officers dead?". Le Monde. 15 May 2024. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ "Huge manhunt after French prison officers killed in ambush". BBC News. 14 May 2024. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Cohen, Roger (14 May 2024). "Manhunt Underway in France After Prisoner Escapes in Ambush". New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ "Massive search in France for prison-break gang that shot 2 officers dead". Associated Press. 15 May 2024. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Stargardter, Gabriel (15 May 2024). "French police search for 'The Fly' after deadly prison van escape". Reuters.
- ^ "Manhunt underway for prison-break gang that gunned down officers in France". NBC News. 15 May 2024. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ "France prisoner escape: Fears wanted fugitive gangster 'The Fly' will 'try to cross borders'". Sky News. 16 May 2024. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ Evans, Holly (16 May 2024). "France prison van attack: 350 officers hunt 'public enemies number one' as The Fly remains at large". The Independent. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Massive manhunt underway for escaped inmate known as "The Fly" after officers killed in prison van attack in France". CBS News. 15 May 2024. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.