Hardcore criminal escapes from jail using a helicopter (Photos)

ruby orimba

July 2, 2018 12:38 PM

The first time he used explosives to break out of jail

The first time Redoine Faid escaped from prison five years ago, he blasted his way out with explosives. This time he burst out in true Hollywood style, using a helicopter.

Faid, one of France's most notorious criminals, was serving 25 years in prison for his role in a failed 2010 robbery that resulted in the death of French police officer Aurélie Fouquet.

He was also given 10 years for his brazen 2013 prison escape, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

Hijacked

Faid's latest flight from prison came after two or three heavily armed men hijacked a helicopter and forced the pilot to fly to Faid's prison in Seine-et-Marne, near Paris, the French Interior Ministry said.

After picking Faid up Sunday, the armed men forced the pilot to fly them to the Val d'Oise region, northwest of Paris, before releasing the pilot unharmed and fleeing in an unidentified vehicle, the Interior Ministry said.

Devastated

It was not immediately clear how Faid was able to get access to the hijacked helicopter.

But news of his second escape "devastated" the parents of the slain officer, the family's attorney claimed.

Attorney Laurent-Frank Lienard said Fouquet's parents are certain Faid "was involved at the highest level in the robbery attempt that led to Aurélie Fouquet's death."

Mastermind

Faid was convicted of masterminding the failed 2010 robbery. Two other men were sentenced for her murder.

But Faid "always denied his involvement in the case," his former lawyer Christian Saint-Palais said.

ruby orimba