A notorious gangster who made a daring escape from a French prison may be seeking to evade authorities by pretending to be a haredi Jew, the Evening Standard UK reported.
French-Algerian career criminal Redoine Faïd escaped from the Réau prison Sunday when three members of his gang, armed with AK-47s, landed a helicopter at the prison and flew off with him.
Faïd, who was serving a 25-year sentence for a botched memory in which a police officer was killed and an additional 10 years for a previous prison escape in 2013.
Faïd had written in his 2010 biography that dressing up as an ultra-Orthodox Jew would be an effective way to evade police.
An investigating source told the Evening Standard that there was a good chance Faïd would seek to flee to Israel.
“Faïd won’t be able to stay on the run in Europe, but Israel may prove a lot easier,” the source said.
Another source told the Mirror that Faïd "has very strong links with Israeli groups, and is a past master at disguising himself as an Orthodox Jew. All those involved in the hunt have been alerted to this possibility.”
He was caught while attempting to obtain forged documents to allow him to travel to Tel Aviv following his first escape in 2013, according to Interpol.
Nearly 3,000 law enforcement officers are searching for Faïd, who remains at large.
“Police forces are fully mobilized in order to find this person,” French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said. “We know he is dangerous. We know he is a determined person and I want to find him as soon as possible.”