Since making his grand escape from prison earlier this month, French gangster Rédoine Faïd has been dodging cops left, right and centre.

However, the guy has slipped up a little in his attempts to keep himself on the down-low.

Faïd, an infamous bank robber, was spotted lurking near Paris this week

The Guardian reports:

Rédouine Faïd was identified as one of two people in a car that was later found abandoned containing explosives.

Officers, who had lost track of the gangster since his spectacular jailbreak, have relaunched a huge manhunt.

Officials said he was recognised by police at a checkpoint near a service station in Piscop, 18km north of Paris, at about 4:30PM local time on Tuesday.

Then the chase was on!

Gendarmes and members of the national police went after the pair. They all ended up in an underground car park at a shopping centre in nearby Sarcelles, and the gangster and his cohort scarpered from the car before the cops could nab them.

However, what the police found in the car pretty much confirms that Faïd was definitely up to no bloody good:

A police source told French journalists six packets of plastic explosives and false number plates were discovered in the boot.

DNA analysis of fingerprints left inside the vehicle matched those of Faïd, 46, who was serving a 25-year sentence for crimes including a 2010 attempted robbery in which a police officer died.

Sacré bleu. This guy is taking no prisoners (no pun intended) when it comes to keeping himself out of jail.

Seriously, just ask the helicopter pilot who was forced to help him escape from jail in the first place.

The manhunt for Faïd still continues, but I dare say the police – not to mention civilians – will have to take caution when going about their business while this guy is still out there.

[source:guardian]