Everything we know in prison van escape from ‘the Fly’ to Operation Sparrowhawk

A dangerous criminal is on the run today after two guards transporting him were shot dead in a horror attack on a prison van.

Three members of prison staff were also left “seriously injured” after the van was ambushed by four armed men at the Incarville tollbooth in Normandy, northern France on Tuesday. Mohammed Amra, 30, a dangerous criminal also known as ‘The Fly’, was being transported between detention centres in Rouen and Évreux when the gang broke him free from the vehicle.

The incident has sent shockwaves through politicians and the public across the European nation, with President Emmanuel Macron pledging that justice will be done “in the name of the French people”. Below is everything we know so far:

A flaming car was seen rammed into the prison van
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Twitter)

What happened?

A hail of machine gun fire broke out near the Incarville toll booth on the A154 motorway in Normandy at around 11am this morning. The French justice minister later confirmed that the attack on a prison van by four gunmen left two guards dead and at least three more people injured. Disturbing footage from the scene showed the masked men strolling around the highway, and a burning car rammed into the back of a prison van. The van was later pictured emptied with the doors barged open.

One of the cars used for the escape, a white Audi A5, has since been found burnt in the town of Watteville. The second, a BMW 5 series, was seen heading in the direction of Louviers and Evreux. Police continued to search for Amra and the four attackers this afternoon.

One of the masked gunmen was seen approaching the prison van
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Twitter)

This is the terrifying moment masked gunmen ambushed a prison van at a French tollbooth before shooting dead two guards, freeing a suspected narco boss dubbed 'The Fly' and fleeing on foot.
The prison van was attacked after 11am on the A154 motorway near the Incarville tollbooth, located in the town of Val-de-Reuil, Normandy, northern France.
At least three French guards were killed, and two others were left wounded, following the attack which saw the assailants and detainee, Mohammed Amra, 30, managing to escape the scene.

Mohammed Amra, 30, has been named as the prisioner who escaped

Who is The Fly?

‌French media reported that Mohammed Amra is nicknamed “La Mouche” (The Fly), and is known to the courts for violent offences. A police source told Le Parisien that he was ‘the head of a narcotics network’ in France. He was sentenced to 18 months last week for a series of aggravated thefts, having used a gun to rob supermarkets and other businesses in Évreux suburbs in the summer of 2019.

He was also being detained over the execution of a man in Marseille on June 17, 2022. A police source told RTL: “He is suspected of having ordered an assassination in Marseille on June 17, 2022. The charred corpse of a man was found in a burned vehicle, in the town of Le Rove, bordering Marseille. The victim had obviously been executed beforehand with a bullet to the head.” Amra was indicted for kidnapping and sequestration leading to death by Marseille police, said a spokesman for the Paris prosecutor’s office.

Amra tried to saw the bars of his cell just two days prior and was moved to a different unit of the prison, a source told Le Parisien.

The attack sprung free a dangerous criminal known as ‘The Fly’
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Twitter)

What is Operation Sparrowhawk?

‌French media reported that Mohammed Amra is nicknamed “La Mouche” (The Fly), and is known to the courts for violent offences. He was sentenced to 18 months last week for a series of aggravated thefts, having used a gun to rob supermarkets and other businesses in Évreux suburbs in the summer of 2019.

Amra tried to see the bars of his cell just two days prior and was moved to a different unit of the prison, a source told Le Parisien.

What has been said?

French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke out following the killings and said on X: “This morning’s attack, which cost the lives of prison administration agents, is a shock for all of us. The Nation stands alongside the families, the injured and their colleagues. Everything is being done to find the perpetrators of this crime so that justice can be done in the name of the French people. We will be intractable.”

French Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, meanwhile wrote on the X social media platform: “Two of our prison officers have died, and three are seriously injured. All my thoughts are with the victims, their families and their colleagues.” He added that he would “immediately” go to the ministry’s crisis unit.

Alexandre Rassaërt, president of the Eure Departmental Council, which covers the area of Vale-de-Reuil, said: “I was frozen with horror when I learned of the real carnage that took place at the Incarville tollbooth. I sincerely hope that the gang of killers who carried out this bloody attack will be quickly arrested. All my thoughts go to the families of the service agents. penitentiary who escorted the detainees and who were killed or seriously injured during this attack which gave them no chance. I also think of all the prison administration guards who, every day, guard prisoners at the risk of their lives.”

Confirming a major police response involving armed officers, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on X: “All means are being used to find these criminals. On my instructions, several hundred police officers and gendarmes are mobilised.”