France arrests 10 linked to escape of gang leader with Romania set to extradite him
The Hindu
Police arrest 10 accomplices of France's most wanted gangland killer, Mohamed Amra, in Bucharest; extradition to France imminent.
Police have arrested 10 suspected accomplices of a suspected gangland killer described as France's "public enemy number one", the Paris chief prosecutor said on Sunday (February 23, 2025) as Romania prepares to hand him over following his arrest in Bucharest.
Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the 10 are alleged to have helped in the escape of Mohamed Amra in an ambush nine months ago in which two prison officers were shot dead and three wounded.
“Mr. Amra, who is accused of gangland murders and drug trafficking, was arrested near a shopping centre in Bucharest on Saturday, February 22, 2025. Romania will hand him over to France within 30 days,” his lawyer said after a court hearing in Bucharest.
He had vanished after the attack with military-style assault weapons on a prison van carrying him in northern France last May.
The brutality of the ambush, which was caught on CCTV, shocked France and Mr. Amra instantly became the country's most wanted man.
The authorities tasked more than 300 investigators with finding Mr. Amra, who is known as "La Mouche" (The Fly), and has a long history of convictions for violent crimes that started when he was in his early teens.
According to a 2024 judiciary report, he started out with aggravated robberies and progressively "slid towards violence", eventually entering the world of organised crime.
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