Berliner Tageblatt - French drug baron transferred to new supermax prison

Amra made headlines when he escaped in May 2024 at a road toll from a prison van following an attack by suspected accomplices in which two prison guards were killed.

After a months-long manhunt he was caught in Romania and extradited to France.

He is among the first convicted drugs criminals to be taken to Vendin-le-Vieil, in northern France, as part of a government campaign against the drugs trade. It is one of two brand new high-security prisons.

Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, who announced the transfer on X, has said he wants to lock up 200 of France's biggest drug traffickers in the two top-security prisons in a bid to crack down on networks that operate from within jails.

In October, a high-security prison wing is to open in the northwestern town of Conde-sur-Sarthe.

As part of the new regime, mobile phone signals will be jammed and prisoners will undergo mandatory searches after every contact with the outside world.

At the Vendin-le-Vieil jail, the exercise yard has been concreted over to prevent objects from being hidden and an airport-style body scanner installed.

Grating has been added to the bars on the cells and hatches installed on all doors so prisoners can be handcuffed before they leave their cells.

A glass screen now prevents physical contact between inmates and visitors.

At the time of the deadly ambush, Amra already had a long history of convictions for violent crimes that started when he was 15.

Amra was suspected of ordering hits from prison, including in the months leading up to his breakout.

O.Krause--BTB