Gang frees prisoner in armed raid
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A gang of 10 men freed a prison inmate in Fresnes, east of Paris, yesterday, using rocket launchers, machine-guns, plastic explosives and false police uniforms.
The military-style operation, which sprang an Italian bank robber aged 29, is the latest in a series of raids that have shaken the French prison service. Police were hunting last night for Antonio "Nino" Ferrara, a man with Corsican connections, who fled the supposedly high-security jail.
The raiders, dressed as policemen, broke through the prison's wire fence and fired machine-guns at two watchtowers. Using a rocket launcher they blew a hole in the armoured door of a building outside the main wall. Then they set an explosives charge to blast through the wall itself.
The men went to the punishment cell where Ferrara had been taken after refusing a body search. They escaped in a fleet of cars, leaving others ablaze as a diversion. The operation took 10 minutes.
Ferrara was serving eight years for armed robbery. He made a jail escape in 1998.
The FO prison officers' union said yesterday that organised crime in France had clearly "declared an open war on prisons".
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments