Rédoine Faïd: Escape King – førom heists to murder
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Quick Facts
Faïd's escape (2018): Helicopter heist and murder shadow
On Sunday morning, July 1, 2018, [Internal Link Placeholder] most wanted man, Rédoine Faïd, shocked the nation for the second time in his criminal career. Shortly before 11 a.m., a [Internal Link Placeholder] landed in the courtyard of Réau prison, south of Paris. An armed commando team freed the 46-year-old Faïd from the prison's visiting room, where he was with his brother, in just a few minutes. Using an angle grinder, they cut through three security doors before taking Rédoine Faïd with them and disappearing in the helicopter towards Val-d'Oise. The [Internal Link Placeholder], who had been kidnapped earlier that day and forced to participate in this daring [Internal Link Placeholder], was left unharmed on a [Internal Link Placeholder] pitch. He was now a shaken [Internal Link Placeholder] to one of the most spectacular prison breaks of the century. For Rédoine Faïd, this was just another chapter in a life marked by armed robberies, cinematic escape attempts, and a self-confidence bordering on arrogance. Behind the facade of the [Internal Link Placeholder] criminal, however, hid a man whose actions had real and [Internal Link Placeholder] consequences, especially for 26-year-old police officer Aurélie Fouquet, who was killed during a failed [Internal Link Placeholder] in 2010.
From Creil's streets to gangster: Faïd's early life
Rédoine Faïd's story begins in Creil, a town north of Paris, [Internal Link Placeholder], where he was born in 1972 as one of eleven [Internal Link Placeholder]. His parents were Algerian immigrants who worked hard to support the family. But when his father left home in 1988, and his mother died just three years later, young Rédoine lost his footing. He committed his first theft at the age of six. In his later autobiography, *Braqueur - Des cités au grand banditisme*, Faïd describes how he early on realized that a criminal career would be his destiny. The street became his [Internal Link Placeholder] ground, and in his teenage years, he began organizing robberies with his brothers. However, he aimed higher than petty crime; his idols were [Internal Link Placeholder] gangsters like Tony [Internal Link Placeholder] from *Scarface* and the characters in Michael Mann's action film *Heat*, whose raw and violent aesthetics he admired and tried to emulate in his own crimes.
The gangster 'Doc': Faïd's crime spree and parole
In the mid-1990s, Rédoine Faïd had established himself as the leader of a gang specializing in brutal cash-in-transit robberies. He planned his heists with [Internal Link Placeholder] precision and was known for peppering his crimes with movie quotes. During a [Internal Link Placeholder] in 1990, where he wore a mask like Steve McQueen in the [Internal Link Placeholder] *Guet-apens* (The Getaway), he earned the nickname 'Doc'. But his criminal career inevitably led to imprisonment. In 1998, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a series of armed robberies. Despite the long sentence, he managed to convince the authorities that he had changed, and in 2009, he was paroled after serving only 10 years. This decision would prove to be a fatal mistake.
Tragedy in Villiers-sur-Marne: Officer killed in robbery
On May 25, 2010, Rédoine Faïd's criminal career culminated tragically. During an attempt to rob a cash-in-transit van in Villiers-sur-Marne, a violent shootout with the police erupted. In this exchange of fire, young police officer Aurélie Fouquet was killed, and her colleague seriously injured. This [Internal Link Placeholder] of a police officer shocked [Internal Link Placeholder]. Although Faïd has consistently denied firing the fatal shot, he was convicted for his role as the mastermind and organizer of the [Internal Link Placeholder], first sentenced to 18 years in prison, a sentence later increased to 25 years. For Aurélie Fouquet's family, Faïd's criminal acts and his subsequent repeated [Internal Link Placeholder] have constantly reopened deep wounds. 'He has destroyed our lives. Every time he escapes, we relive the nightmare,' her mother stated after the spectacular [Internal Link Placeholder] escape in 2018.
Escape king strikes (2013): Faïd's prison breakout
Rédoine Faïd's reputation as [Internal Link Placeholder] uncrowned [Internal Link Placeholder] king was truly cemented in 2013. He managed to escape from Sequedin prison by taking [Internal Link Placeholder] and using explosives, which had allegedly been smuggled in hidden in laundry bags. He brutally blasted his way through five security doors and was on the run for 47 days. During this period, he lived a surprisingly normal life, staying in [Internal Link Placeholder] and even going to the cinema. However, his attempt to obtain a fake [Internal Link Placeholder] [Internal Link Placeholder] failed when police, via an active mobile phone in his [Internal Link Placeholder], were able to trace him to his hideout and arrest him.
Helicopter escape (2018): From surveillance to arrest
But it was the incredible [Internal Link Placeholder] [Internal Link Placeholder] in 2018 that truly secured Rédoine Faïd's place in the history books as one of the most daring prisoners ever to break out of jail. The plan for this escape had reportedly been prepared for months by his brother, Rachid Faïd, and involved, among other things, the use of drone [Internal Link Placeholder] of the prison grounds. The operation itself included [Internal Link Placeholder] a helicopter, where the [Internal Link Placeholder] was threatened and forced to land in the prison courtyard, using an angle grinder to break through doors, deploying smoke bombs to create confusion, and finally, a swift getaway in a waiting [Internal Link Placeholder] after the helicopter landed in Garges-lès-Gonesse. This time, however, freedom lasted only three months. In October 2018, a heavily armed SWAT team stormed a hideout in Faïd's childhood town of Creil, where he had been hiding with his brother and other [Internal Link Placeholder].
The verdict: Faïd sentenced to 14 more years in jail
After this last, daring [Internal Link Placeholder], Rédoine Faïd's total sentence has only grown longer. In 2023, he was sentenced to an additional 14 years in prison specifically for the [Internal Link Placeholder] escape, bringing his total sentence to a length that means he cannot be released until 2060 at the earliest, when he will be 88 years old. In its verdict, the court emphasized the serious threats against the helicopter [Internal Link Placeholder] and the [Internal Link Placeholder] use of [Internal Link Placeholder] during the operation. Even behind bars, often in solitary confinement, Faïd manages to remain in the [Internal Link Placeholder] spotlight, partly by filing defamation lawsuits. He continues to maintain his innocence regarding the [Internal Link Placeholder] of police officer Aurélie Fouquet.
The myth: Faïd as 'helicopter bandit' legacy lives
A 2012 forensic psychiatric examination described Rédoine Faïd as a 'charming sociopath,' a personality marked by [Internal Link Placeholder] and a profound disrespect for authority. His autobiography, *Braqueur*, reveals a complex picture of a man balancing the role of a hardened criminal with that of a person with strong family ties. Indeed, his family has played a central role in his life, displaying a loyalty described during [Internal Link Placeholder] as 'stronger than [Internal Link Placeholder] ties.' Rédoine Faïd's story is more than just a list of crimes; it is a portrait of a man whose potential and undeniable charisma might have led him down a different, law-abiding path, but whose choices cemented a life in constant flight from the law and justice. His repeated, desperate [Internal Link Placeholder] attempts testify to an almost indomitable urge for freedom, regardless of the cost. For the victims' families, especially the family of Aurélie Fouquet, he is an eternal symbol of injustice and sorrow. For criminologists, he presents a fascinating study of the criminal psyche and the modern gangster. And for the French state, he is a constant reminder of the system's vulnerability to the determined and ruthless criminal. While Rédoine Faïd now serves his exceptionally long sentence, often under heightened security in solitary confinement, the myth of the '[Internal Link Placeholder] bandit' lives on – a striking testament to an extraordinary and violent criminal career in [Internal Link Placeholder].
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Susanne Sperling
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