Nordine Ben Allal

Nordine Ben Allal (born 1978 or 1979) is a Belgian criminal of Moroccan origin who was condemned for a 27-year prison sentence in June 2004. In October 2007 he made headlines when he used a helicopter to escape from prison.

Escape attempts

Allal has escaped four times, in October 2000, in December 2000, in August 2004 and in October 2007.

Third attempt 2004

His third escape from prison took place from August 8 to August 13, 2004. During his escape, he was spotted by two police officers from the Police Zone Midi (which covers Anderlecht, Saint-Gilles and Vorst). The policemen followed him into the neighbouring municipality of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, where Ben Allal opened fire on them, injuring the two officers. He was the most wanted fugitive in Belgium during that week and was finally captured by special police teams while hiding in the trunk of a car. Ben Allal is considered to be one of the most dangerous criminals in Belgium. In November 2005 he was sentenced to an extra 12 years in prison for the shooting.

Fourth attempt 2007

Latest escape occurred on October 28, 2007 when he escaped again from the high security prison in Ittre, Belgium. A hijacked helicopter landed during the evening walk and several prisoners ran towards it to get a ride out of prison. The helicopter took off but crashed, and one prisoner was injured. During the distraction, Ben Allal and an accomplice were able to get away in guard uniforms and joined their awaiting helpers which had a car waiting for them, which was found abandoned a few hours later.

On October 30, 2007, Ben Allal attempted to commit an armed robbery with an accomplice in The Hague, Netherlands, but was arrested by the Dutch Police when trying to escape on a motorcycle.^[1]

See also

• List of helicopter prison escapes

References