‘The Fly’ has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What’s his criminal history?

By THOMAS ADAMSON
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France after a daring escape from a prison convoy in Normandy in which two guards were killed. Mohamed Amra has a long and violent criminal history that has now culminated in a high-profile search. Amra was born in Rouen and had a colorful adolescence marked by early run-ins with the law. The Paris public prosecutor says Amra’s first offenses in his early teens involved violence, theft and extortion. Now 30, he has become entangled in a life of crime. The prosecutor stated that Amra had significant connections with Marseille’s organized crime syndicates and was suspected of heading a drug trafficking network.