Nordine Ben Allal (born 1978 or 1979) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

criminal of Moroccan origin who was sentenced to a 27-year

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

sentence in June 2004 for several

robberies Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

. In October 2007 he made headlines when he used a helicopter to escape from prison. Finally, on 21 August 2020, at night, he was arrested in Ceuta by the National Police of Spain after kidnapping a man along with other two known hitmen in an intervention in which the police were shot. Now he is in prison and is accused of the crimes of illegal detention, attack on an agent of authority, injuries and criminal organization.

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 8 August to 13 August 2004. During his escape, he was spotted by two police officers from the Police Zone Midi (which covers Anderlecht, Saint-Gilles and

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

). The policemen followed him into the neighbouring municipality of

Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (French, ) or ( Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

, where Ben Allal opened fire on them, injuring the two officers. He was the most wanted

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

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

His latest escape occurred on 28 October 2007 when he escaped again from the high security prison in

Ittre Ittre (; wa, Ite; nl, Itter, ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. Since the Fusion of the Belgian municipalities in 1977, the municipality is composed of three districts: Haut-Ittre, Ittre and Virg ...

, 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 who had a car waiting for them, which was found abandoned a few hours later. On 30 October 2007, Ben Allal attempted to commit an armed robbery with an accomplice in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, but was arrested by the

Dutch Police National Police Corps ( nl, Korps Nationale Politie), colloquially in English as Dutch National Police or National Police Force, is divided in ten regional units, a central unit, the police academy, police services center, and national control ...

when trying to escape on a motorcycle.

References

20th-century Belgian criminals 20th-century Moroccan criminals 21st-century Belgian criminals 21st-century Moroccan criminals 1978 births Belgian people convicted of robbery Moroccan people convicted of robbery Belgian escapees Escapees from Belgian detention Living people Belgian people of Moroccan descent {{Belgium-bio-stub

Escape attempts

Third attempt 2004

Fourth attempt 2007

See also

References