A notorious French fugitive, Mohamed Amra, nicknamed “The Fly”, has been extradited to France from Romania after a nine-month international manhunt. Amra was arrested in Bucharest on Saturday despite attempting to evade detection by dyeing his hair red.
Amra’s extradition request was approved by the Romanian court of appeal on Sunday, and he was handed over to French authorities at an airport near Bucharest on Tuesday. He arrived in handcuffs flanked by armed police officers and was taken to the main Paris courthouse upon arrival.
Amra will face charges for burglary, murder, attempted murder, and escaping from custody, which were linked to his escape attempt last year. The high-profile manhunt began after Amra’s prison convoy was ambushed in Normandy, killing two guards.
Interpol issued a notice for Amra’s arrest, and French investigators alerted counterparts in other countries after they suspected he had left France. As of Monday night, 25 people were detained across multiple countries on suspicion of involvement in his escape or the aftermath.
French President Emmanuel Macron hailed Amra’s capture as a “formidable success” and praised European colleagues for ending the long cross-border hunt. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said Amra had connections to Marseille’s organised crime syndicates and was suspected of heading a drug trafficking network.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/25/french-fugitive-whose-escape-left-two-officers-dead-arrested-in-romania