Armed gang frees murder suspect in prison raid

An armed gang opened fire on guards and blew holes in a prison’s walls in eastern France today, freeing an accused killer.

The spectacular escape of Antonio Ferrara, 30, was the second high-profile jailbreak in France in less than a week.

“We are faced with a new type of escape that we have not experienced until now which are military-type operations with the use of weapons of war,” Justice Minister Dominique Perben said.

Police said six or seven gunmen arrived at the outside the jail in Fresnes, 150 miles east of Paris, at about 4.30 am.

While one group opened fire on guard-posts with automatic weapons, another group triggered explosives that blew open the prison’s metal gates and blasted holes into the jail, freeing Ferrara. It was his second jailbreak.

The escape came just five days after Joseph Menconi, a suspected murderer, escaped from a prison in Corsica. It was also his second escape.

Menconi was also helped from the outside: two or three accomplices who used a fake bazooka to threaten guards into leading them into the prison, where Menconi had already escaped his cell.

In addition to murder, Ferrara is suspected of involvement in at least 15 armoured car robberies. He was arrested in 1997, but escaped the following year during a hospital visit.

Ferrara was captured again in July 2002. Prison officials caught him in September with a charge of possessing explosives and five detonators.

Justice minister Perben said the government would gather a special panel to discuss possible measures to guard against such escapes, and a prison officers union called for the resignation of national prison director Didier Lallement.