Drones buzzed French prison months before spectacular escape
Notorious criminal Redoine Faid’s break-out was his second in a few years and appears to have been inspired by his love of caper films
Drones seen buzzing above a prison months ago may have been on a reconnaissance mission ahead of the cinematic escape of a notorious French criminal – his second in five years.
France’s justice minister said several drones were spotted flying over the Reau prison a few months ago and speculated that they were linked to the escape on Sunday, in which heavily armed men landed a helicopter in a courtyard, used a grinding machine to open the door of the visiting room where Redoine Faid was seeing his brother, and escorted the prisoner to freedom.
Faid, 46, is an avid fan of caper films, the author of a confessional book about his life of crime – and a serial robber of banks and armoured trucks.
He was serving 25 years for an attempted armed robbery in 2010 that led to a high-speed chase and a shoot-out with police that killed 26-year-old officer Aurelie Fouquet.
Faid had already escaped once before, in 2013, by blasting his way out with explosives hidden in tissue packs.