Interpol has issued an international wanted notice for a French gangster who authorities say used explosives as part of a brazen escape from a prison in Lille, France, over the weekend, the organization said Monday.
Redoine Faid held five people, including four guards, at gunpoint at the detention center Saturday, officials said. He then burst his way to freedom by detonating explosives that destroyed five doors, penitentiary union spokesman Etienne Dobremetz told CNN affiliate BFMTV.
Faid's escape has raised a number of questions: How did an inmate get guns and explosives? How did he manage to use those to force his way out? And, after all that, why is he still at large?
The four guards whom Faid allegedly held hostage "are safe and sound," Lille prosecutor Frederic Fevre said.
Faid, 40, thought big, getting inspiration from the movies. He wore a hockey mask, like Robert DeNiro's character in the movie "Heat," and acted audaciously in attacking armored trucks among other targets.
"He lives his life like a hero from a Hollywood film," said Pierre Fourniaud, who edited Faid's 2010 autobiography, "Robber: From Suburbs to Organized Crime."
n 1998, after three years on the run during which he fled to Switzerland, Faid was caught. Sentenced to 20 years, he spent time in high-security prisons around France.
After more than a decade behind bars, the Frenchman insisted he'd changed. But this promise didn't last long, French authorities said.
In 2011, Faid landed back behind bars.
"He is remarkably intelligent, and he is using his intellect to serve his ambitions," Pelletier told BFMTV. "(And Faid) cannot stand being imprisoned any more."
