Notorious French Gangster Escapes Prison by Helicopter

A criminal mastermind who was once France’s most-wanted man escaped prison on Sunday by helicopter with help from a flock of heavily-armed men, authorities said. Redoine Faid, 46, fled the Reau penitentiary outside Paris after an appeals court recently sentenced him to 25 years for a May 2010 armed robbery. Sources cited by Agence France-Presse said Faid had at least three accomplices in the daring escape. This marks his second prison break after he used dynamite to blast his way out of a prison in 2013 only to be recaptured six weeks later.