French drug baron 'The Fly' transferred to new supermax prison

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PARIS — Notorious French drug baron Mohamed Amra, known as “The Fly”, was on Thursday transferred to a new supermax prison, built to stop narcotics criminals from plying their trade from behind bars.

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.