A French Gangster Broke Out Of Prison For The 2nd Time, This Time In A Hijacked Helicopter
Daily Mail- Redoine Faid, 46, who was once France’s most wanted man broke out of the penitentiary in Reau in the capital’s southeastern suburbs, with the help of two accomplices in an operation lasting just ten minutes. They used smoke bombs and angle grinders to overcome wardens in the facility’s visiting room where Faid was talking to a brother. In video captured inside the jail, inmates can be heard cheering as guards sprint through the prison grounds and a helicopter hovers overhead.
A huge manhunt, involving nearly 3,000 police officers was underway across France this morning. French Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet, who arrived at the prison in Reau last night, said the commandos most likely ‘used drones to survey the location’ beforehand.
The helicopter – hijacked from a terrified flight instructor – landed at around 11.15am in the prison yard. Guards did not open fire, fearing the aircraft would crash into prison buildings and because of the civilian pilot.
I know the French have had a reputation for being pussies for decades if not centuries, but Redoine Faid is a goddamn gangster. Not just because escaping prison in a hijacked helicopter is fucking awesome. But because he is literally a gangster. Everywhere I saw this story, he was described as a gangster instead of a criminal or robber because that’s what he actually is. It is no surprise that the opening sentence to his Wikipedia page is pretty badass.
So not only is Faid a gangster, but he is a “serial jailbreaker” that already escaped jail once using dynamite and was once the most wanted man in France?
It is the second time Faid has pulled off a spectacular jailbreak – in 2013, he blasted his way out of a prison in northern France using dynamite. He was recaptured six weeks later.
Two prison breaks, with the latest being in 10 minutes flat and was planned with the use of drones? Lincoln Burrows ain’t got shit on Redoine Faid. Not only did Faid escape jail twice but he also once went to Israel and learned Hebrew to avoid getting caught.
Faid wrote in a 2010 autobiography that while in Israel he disguised himself as an ultra-Orthodox Jew and learned Hebrew to escape police. Police nicknamed him “The Author,” for two books he co-wrote about his delinquent youth.
You know how hard it is to learn Hebrew? Ummm…very hard*! Now try learning it in the home of Judaism while also avoiding police.
*Source: A couple of friends that learned it for their Bar Mitzvah
Redoine Faid is more than any of the titles placed upon him. He is a real life movie character. Frank Abagnale with street cred. If George Clooney and Brad Pitt ever want to take another working vacation and make an Ocean’s 14, they need Redoine Faid as the 14th member of their crew. Not someone based on him, but the actual Redoine Faid. Yeah he’s probably the most wanted criminal in France yet again and blah blah blah. But something tells me he will have no problem sneaking on and off set for his scenes without being captured. I mean if French jails allow inmates to have cell phones and Snapchat, security can’t be too tight. Then again, the Ocean’s franchise seems a little tame for Faid’s tastes.
At a Paris film festival in April 2009, Faid approached Michael Mann, director of the 1995 gangster film ‘Heat’ starring Al Pacino and Robert Niro, telling him: ‘You were my technical adviser.’
True gangster shit.
UPDATE: Apparently this was already blogged by someone? In that case, I blame the World Cup for giving me Futbol Fever and missing it. If you can’t understand that, then YOU are the one that’s not paying attention.
UPDATE 2: Yup, I’m an idiot. Not really much of an update as it is a confirmation to what you guys probably already knew. I’m dumb.