Latest news with #Amra
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
French drug baron transferred to new supermax prison
Amra is among the first convicted drug traffickers to be sent to the new supermax prison Amra made headlines when he escaped in May 2024 at a road toll from a prison van following an attack by suspected accomplices in which two prison guards were killed. After a months-long manhunt he was caught in Romania and extradited to France. He is among the first convicted drugs criminals to be taken to Vendin-le-Vieil, in northern France, as part of a government campaign against the drugs trade. It is one of two brand new high-security prisons. Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, who announced the transfer on X, has said he wants to lock up 200 of France's biggest drug traffickers in the two top-security prisons in a bid to crack down on networks that operate from within jails. The main purpose of the supermax prisons is to prevent drug barons from continuing operations © Michel Euler / POOL/AFP In October, a high-security prison wing is to open in the northwestern town of Conde-sur-Sarthe. As part of the new regime, mobile phone signals will be jammed and prisoners will undergo mandatory searches after every contact with the outside world. At the Vendin-le-Vieil jail, the exercise yard has been concreted over to prevent objects from being hidden and an airport-style body scanner installed. Grating has been added to the bars on the cells and hatches installed on all doors so prisoners can be handcuffed before they leave their cells. A glass screen now prevents physical contact between inmates and visitors. At the time of the deadly ambush, Amra already had a long history of convictions for violent crimes that started when he was 15. Amra was suspected of ordering hits from prison, including in the months leading up to his breakout. © 2025 AFP
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Pakistan's Parsi community dwindles
The front elevation of the Mama Parsi Girls High School, which has the bust of Ardeshir Hormushji Mama, its Zoroastrian founder, engraved on its facade, in Karachi. Photo: AFP From a gated community for her Zoroastrian faith in Karachi, 22-year-old Elisha Amra has waved goodbye to many friends migrating abroad as the ancient Parsi community dwindles. Soon the film student hopes to join them — becoming one more loss to Pakistan's ageing Zoroastrian Parsi people, a community who trace their roots back to Persian refugees from Iran more than a millennium ago. "My plan is to go abroad," Amra said, adding that she wants to study for a master's degree in a country without the restrictions of a conservative Muslim-majority society. "I want to be able to freely express myself," she added. Zoroastrianism, founded by the Zarathustra, was predominant religion of the ancient Persian empire, until the rise of Islam in the seventh century. In Pakistan, once the Parsi community had as many as 15,000-20,000 people but now the number is 900 people in Karachi and a few dozen more elsewhere. Amra acknowledges her life is more comfortable than many in Pakistanthe Parsis are in general an affluent and highly educated community. But she says she wants to escape the daily challenges that beset the city of some 20 million people — from power cuts, water shortages to violent street crime. Zubin Patel, 27, a Parsi working in e-commerce in Karachi, has seen more than two dozen Parsi friends leave Karachi for abroad in the past three years. "More than 20-25 of my friends were living in Karachi, they all started migrating", he said. That is not unique to Parsis — many young and skilled Pakistanis want to find jobs abroad to escape a country wracked with political uncertainty and security challenges, a struggling economy and woeful infrastructure. The number of highly skilled Pakistanis who left for jobs abroad more than doubled according to the latest figures from the Pakistan Economic Survey — from 20,865 in 2022, to 45,687 in 2023. Parsis are struggling to adjust in a fast-changing world. "There is a better chance to find a Zoroastrian partner in Canada, Australia, UK and America than in Pakistan," said Dinshaw Behram Avari, 57, the head of one of the most prominent Parsi families. Avari, who heads a chain of hotels, points out that Parsi population of Toronto is some 10 times greater than Karachi. He said that a wave of Parsis left Pakistan during the hardline military rule of Ziaul Haq in the 1980s. Since then, violence has targeted religious minorities, and while Parsis say they have not been targeted, they remain wary. Avari suggested the community's high levels of education and Western outlook to life meant many eyed a future abroad, while for those who do stay, family size is shrinking. "Couples are more interested today in looking after their career; they are not interested in family," he said. "When they do get married, they will have one child — and one child is not enough to make a positive impact on the population." Parsi members were among the pioneers of the shipping and hospitality industries in Karachi, and the city's colonial-era historic district is dotted with Parsi buildings including hospitals and schools. But as the community declines, many buildings have crumbled. For many among the younger generation, the only pull left keeping them in Pakistan is their ageing relatives. Patel said that he would leave if he could. "It would be a difficult decision," he said. "But if I have an opportunity which would give my parents ... a healthy lifestyle, then I'd obviously go for it".
Local France
14-05-2025
- Local France
How escaped French drug kingpin ‘La Mouche' evaded capture for months
His escape left two prison officers dead and triggered a massive manhunt for a man dubbed 'La Mouche' (The Fly). On the run for nine months, he was re-arrested in February near a shopping centre in Romania's capital Bucharest then extradited to France. On the one-year anniversary of the escape, French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the families of the victims on Wednesday to pay tribute to the first prison officers killed in France in the line of duty since 1992. On May 14th, 2024, a car crashed head-on into a prison van at a toll booth in France's northern Normandy region. Moments later, a second car pulled up and four armed men jumped out, killing prison officers Arnaud Garcia and Fabrice Moello and leaving three others wounded. At the time of the deadly ambush, Amra already had a long history of convictions for violent crimes that started when he was only 15. So when the assailants whisked the 30-year-old Normandy native into a waiting vehicle, French authorities launched a massive manhunt to track down the man described as 'public enemy number one'. But a source close to the case said Amra was 'always one step ahead'. Public prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed the Frenchman had been holed up in the city of Compiegne, then headed further north to Rouen before making his way to eastern Europe. A network of accomplices suspected of helping finance the escape, including a childhood friend of Amra and rapper Koba LaD, allegedly aided the fugitive stay off the authorities' radar. Even so, 'the net gradually closed in', said Beccuau, with the escapee arrested by Romanian authorities nine months after his getaway. Authorities then intensified the search for those who aided him in his escape from France to the eastern European country, arresting more than three dozen alleged accomplices. Advertisement Among those arrested are the six suspected attackers in the May 2024 assault found as far afield as Thailand, Morocco and Spain – one of whom died in an accident in November. But a lawyer for one of the accused said there are 'real doubts' about their involvement, with some 'categorically denying the charges'. As for Amra, his lawyer said, 'no one can claim to know his role'. 'The fact that he benefited from the escape doesn't necessarily mean he planned it or knew what methods would be used,' said Lucas Montagnier. In February, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin promised the creation of 'prison police' units and a 'high security prison', in response to concerns that it has become too easy for convicted criminals to continue their business despite being locked up, thanks notably to mobile phone access. Advertisement Amra was suspected of ordering hits from prison, including in the months leading up to his breakout, when a close associate warned that La Mouche was giving someone called 'A' a week to pay a debt. In late April, lawmakers approved a new bill to combat drug-related crime, with some of France's most dangerous drug traffickers facing being locked up in high-security units in prison in the coming months. The high-security units are designed to limit the capacity to continue their criminal activity behind bars, but lawyers have raised concerns about defendants' rights.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Yahoo
Fugitive wanted over deadly prison escape caught on tropical island
Thai police have arrested a French fugitive on the tropical holiday island of Phuket over a deadly prison breakout that freed a notorious drug lord nicknamed "The Fly." Adonis Correa, 24, is the latest of two dozen suspects to be detained in a sprawling international manhunt after the shocking escape of suspected gangland kingpin Mohamed Amra from a prison van in northern France in May 2024. Correa is considered by investigators to be a "close friend" of Amra, who was arrested in Romania last month after nine months on the run as France's "public enemy number one." Correa was arrested on Wednesday in the southern island of Phuket, a hugely popular beach destination for millions of tourists, French sources and Thai police said on Thursday. "Thai immigration police have arrested a French national linked to a transnational criminal organization involved in a violent prison break that resulted in the deaths of prison officers," Thai police said in a statement. The shocking, violent nature of Amra's escape last year stunned France and made headlines around the world. Masked gunmen armed with military-grade automatic weapons attacked a prison van transporting him at a motorway toll plaza, killing two guards and wounding three others. Interpol had issued a red notice at the request of France for the arrest of Amra. Amra, who is suspected of pursuing his drug-related activities and even ordering murders from his prison cell, went on the run and was eventually tracked down in Bucharest and sent back to France. Prosecutors at the time said Amra, who had changed his appearance and dyed his hair, had been identified through facial recognition tools and his fingerprints. At least 2 dozen suspects detained Correa is the latest of two dozen suspects detained as part of the French probe into the breakout. He entered Thailand on a tourist visa February 8 through Phuket International Airport -- before an arrest warrant and Interpol red notice were issued against him, according to Thai police. Thai authorities said they tracked Correa to the Kamala and Patong areas of Phuket and arrested him on Wednesday. His lawyer in France, Joseph Hazan, told AFP on Thursday that his client had turned himself in. "He presented himself to Thai authorities, with whom we have been in contact for several days," Hazan said, adding that his client had not yet made a statement and would "explain himself to the French judges". Thai officials have cancelled Correa's visa and he is now being held in Bangkok while his deportation to France is arranged. Thailand and France do not have an extradition treaty but sources told AFP they expect Correa to be sent back some time next week. "The Fly" has history of violent crime, officials say Amra has a long history of convictions for violent crimes that started when he was only 15, according to judicial sources. "He is very well-known to the judiciary," Paris chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau said previously. Amra has close links to organized crime, said another source close to the case who asked not to be identified, and is suspected of ordering killings linked to the drugs trade. Another source who asked not to be named said Amra runs his own drug trafficking network. However, none of his 13 prior convictions -- for crimes ranging from armed robbery to extortion -- were directly related to the narcotics business, said Beccuau. He was jailed in January 2022 in Evreux prison in the northwestern Normandy region to serve several sentences, including for criminal conspiracy, extortion, robbery, armed violence and participation in an illegal motor rodeo. At the time of his escape he was also facing two fresh charges, one for attempted murder and another for participation in a gangland killing in the southern city of Marseille on the French riviera, a hub for drug trafficking and gang violence. Freed Israeli hostages call for end to war, to bring remaining Gaza hostages home What is the future of the Kennedy Center? Elton John, Brandi Carlile on their dream collaboration
CBS News
31-03-2025
- CBS News
Fugitive wanted over notorious drug lord's deadly prison escape is caught on tropical island in Thailand
Thai police have arrested a French fugitive on the tropical holiday island of Phuket over a deadly prison breakout that freed a notorious drug lord nicknamed "The Fly." Adonis Correa, 24, is the latest of two dozen suspects to be detained in a sprawling international manhunt after the shocking escape of suspected gangland kingpin Mohamed Amra from a prison van in northern France in May 2024. Correa is considered by investigators to be a "close friend" of Amra, who was arrested in Romania last month after nine months on the run as France's "public enemy number one." Correa was arrested on Wednesday in the southern island of Phuket, a hugely popular beach destination for millions of tourists, French sources and Thai police said on Thursday. "Thai immigration police have arrested a French national linked to a transnational criminal organization involved in a violent prison break that resulted in the deaths of prison officers," Thai police said in a statement. The shocking, violent nature of Amra's escape last year stunned France and made headlines around the world. Masked gunmen armed with military-grade automatic weapons attacked a prison van transporting him at a motorway toll plaza, killing two guards and wounding three others. Interpol had issued a red notice at the request of France for the arrest of Amra. Amra, who is suspected of pursuing his drug-related activities and even ordering murders from his prison cell, went on the run and was eventually tracked down in Bucharest and sent back to France. Prosecutors at the time said Amra, who had changed his appearance and dyed his hair, had been identified through facial recognition tools and his fingerprints. Correa is the latest of two dozen suspects detained as part of the French probe into the breakout. He entered Thailand on a tourist visa February 8 through Phuket International Airport -- before an arrest warrant and Interpol red notice were issued against him, according to Thai police. Thai authorities said they tracked Correa to the Kamala and Patong areas of Phuket and arrested him on Wednesday. His lawyer in France, Joseph Hazan, told AFP on Thursday that his client had turned himself in. "He presented himself to Thai authorities, with whom we have been in contact for several days," Hazan said, adding that his client had not yet made a statement and would "explain himself to the French judges". Thai officials have cancelled Correa's visa and he is now being held in Bangkok while his deportation to France is arranged. Thailand and France do not have an extradition treaty but sources told AFP they expect Correa to be sent back some time next week. Amra has a long history of convictions for violent crimes that started when he was only 15, according to judicial sources. "He is very well-known to the judiciary," Paris chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau said previously. Amra has close links to organized crime, said another source close to the case who asked not to be identified, and is suspected of ordering killings linked to the drugs trade. Another source who asked not to be named said Amra runs his own drug trafficking network. However, none of his 13 prior convictions -- for crimes ranging from armed robbery to extortion -- were directly related to the narcotics business, said Beccuau. He was jailed in January 2022 in Evreux prison in the northwestern Normandy region to serve several sentences, including for criminal conspiracy, extortion, robbery, armed violence and participation in an illegal motor rodeo. At the time of his escape he was also facing two fresh charges, one for attempted murder and another for participation in a gangland killing in the southern city of Marseille on the French riviera, a hub for drug trafficking and gang violence.
