Global police body Interpol said on Wednesday, May 15, it had issued a red notice at the request of France for the arrest of the convict who escaped in an attack on a prison van that killed two guards. "A red notice has been issued at the request of French authorities for escaped prisoner Mohamed Amra, alias 'The Fly'," Interpol said. A red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and arrest a wanted individual.
The prison officers who died, both men, were the first to be killed in the line of duty since 1992, according to Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti. Prison officer unions announced a day of minimum service on Wednesday and asked for urgent measures to improve the safety of staff. Dupond-Moretti said he would meet union representatives on Wednesday
Prosecutor Beccuau named the inmate as Mohamed Amra, born in 1994, saying that last week he had been convicted of aggravated robbery and charged in a case of abduction leading to death. But a source close to the case said that Amra was suspected of involvement in drug trafficking and of ordering gangland killings. Another source said he is suspected of being at the head of a criminal network. Some media said he had the nickname "La Mouche" ("The Fly").
His lawyer Hugues Vigier said Amra had already made an escape attempt this weekend by sawing the bars of his cell and said he was shocked by the "inexcusable" and "insane" violence. "This does not correspond to the impression that I had of him," the lawyer told BFMTV.
The incident came on the same day as the French Sénat published a damning report warning that government measures had been unable to prevent the flourishing of the narcotics industry in France. "Narco-banditry kills many people, much more than terrorism," said Darmanin, also pointing to the responsibility of drug users. "One cannot at the same time cry for the widows and orphans of the Eure toll booth attack and then smoke a joint... this is called schizophrenia."