France's Master Escape Artist: The Rédoine Faïd Story

Rédoine Faïd burst into infamy in the 1990s as the ringleader of a criminal gang responsible for armed robberies, jewel thefts, and extortion across the Paris region. Together with Jean-Claude Bisel, Faïd orchestrated heists targeting armored trucks carrying cash and high-value jewelry. By 1997, law enforcement had caught up with the operation. Seven of eight suspects were brought to trial; the eighth fled to Algeria.

Faïd himself eluded capture for three years, using Switzerland and Israel as hideouts while authorities hunted him across Europe. In his later autobiography, Faïd would claim he disguised himself as an Orthodox Jew during this period, learned Hebrew, and received firearms training from an Israeli soldier. Whether fact or embellishment, the story underscores his resourcefulness. He was finally arrested in 1998 and handed a 30-year prison sentence. After serving a decade, he was released on parole.

His freedom proved temporary. In 2010, Faïd became entangled in a failed robbery that resulted in the death of French police officer Aurélie Fouquet. He would ultimately serve 25 years for his role in that operation—a sentence that would define the next phase of his criminal notoriety.

On 13 April 2013, while incarcerated at Sequedin prison, Faïd orchestrated a brazen escape that shocked the French authorities. Using explosives, he blasted through five prison doors, then took four prison wardens hostage as leverage. An accomplice—Sabri Trad, a former special forces officer—waited outside in a getaway car. The pair drove to Lille, where they torched the vehicle and switched to another. Within weeks, Interpol issued a Europe-wide warrant. Faïd was recaptured on 29 May 2013 in a bed-and-breakfast in Pontault-Combault, Seine-et-Marne, after intelligence suggested he was attempting to obtain forged documents for passage to Israel.