France says French gangster 'The Fly' was arrested in Romania

PARIS (Reuters) - Mohamed Amra, a French fugitive known as "The Fly", who was freed by gunmen in a brazen attack against a prison van in May, was arrested in Romania on Saturday, the French interior minister said.

French police had launched a massive manhunt for the fugitive, whose escape resulted in the deaths of two prison guards and was seized upon by right-wing politicians as evidence that France had lost its grip on drug crime.

"I congratulate all forces which made Mohamed Amra's arrest in Romania today possible. A warm thank you to Romania for its decisive cooperation," Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on X.

Amra is a 30-year-old from northern France, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. Police sources said he was involved in drug trafficking.

The Paris prosecutor's office said he had been convicted of burglary by a court in Evreux on May 10 and was being held at the Val de Reuil prison until his escape on May 14.

He had also been indicted by prosecutors in Marseille for a kidnapping that led to a death, it said.

(Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

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