Rédoine Faïd: France jailbreak king gets jail time for her helicopter escape

• A Paris court has sentenced Rédoine Faïd to an additional 14 years in prison.
• Faïd had escaped from Réau prison in the southern Paris outskirts in 2018.
• He described his motivation for planning the jailbreak as boredom.

A Paris court has sentenced Rédoine Faïd, a French armed robber known for his spectacular helicopter jailbreak, to an additional 14 years in prison.

Faïd, who drew inspiration from French and American gangster films for his criminal career, escaped from Réau prison in the southern Paris outskirts in 2018, marking his second successful evasion of the French prison system.

His daring escape involved commandeering a helicopter, deploying smoke bombs, and using a disc-grinder to cut through doors, resulting in a dramatic exit from the prison.

During his three-month period on the runFaïd was eventually traced to his hometown of Creil, north of Paris, where he was spotted disguised as a woman in a Muslim burqa. The trial also involved two of Faïd’s brothers, three nephews, and a convicted member of the Corsican underworld.

For Faïd, the trial provided a rare opportunity to present a romanticized version of his criminal past, after spending years in solitary confinement.

He described his motivation for planning the jailbreak as boredom and the prospect of facing another 20 years in prison.

He portrayed his escape as a response to the “incredible lapse” of not having anti-helicopter nets above the prison courtyard, saying he was “addicted to freedom.”

Prosecution lawyers cautioned the jury not to be swayed by Faïd’s charm and personality, emphasizing that the escape was a family endeavor.

Faïd’s connections to organized crime had been severed due to his penchant for the limelight. During a brief period of reform in the early 2010s, Faïd co-authored a book about his criminal past and made frequent television appearances.

Rédoine Faïd’s criminal journey began in 1990 when he robbed his first bank. He became known for targeting armored vans and claimed to adhere to a criminal code of honor, avoiding harm to his victims.

However, in 2010, a policewoman was fatally shot during a chase following one of the robberies he organized. The court also sentenced Faïd’s elder brother Rachid, who organized the helicopter flight, to 10 years in jail.

One of Faïd’s nephews was on the helicopter, and another was on standby with getaway vehicles. Faïd’s brother Brahim, who asserted that he had no knowledge of the escape plot, received a one-year suspended prison sentence.

A subplot in the trial involved allegations of a Corsican mafia connection, with claims that Jacques Mariani, a convicted underworld boss, was approached by Faïd through an intermediary to arrange an escape in exchange for dealing with gangland rivals.

Both Faïd and Mariani denied the story, with the only evidence coming from the alleged intermediary, who testified from behind a screen and now resides under a new identity in a foreign country.

A technical mishap in court led to the accidental broadcast of the intermediary’s face, causing a photograph to circulate on social media, though the culprit remained unidentified.

To stay informed about current events, please like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BOLUrduNews/.

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/bolnewsurdu01 and stay updated with the latest news.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel https://bit.ly/3Tv8a3P to watch news from Pakistan and around the world.

Also Read

At least 22 killed & many injured in Lewiston, Maine shootings

At least 22 were killed & many injured in Lewiston, Maine shootings....