This is the moment a notorious gangster who said his life was inspired by films like 'Scarface' pulled off a brazen jailbreak by fleeing from a prison near Paris in a hijacked helicopter.

Redoine Faid, 46, who was once France's most wanted man broke out of the penitentiary in Reau in the capital's southeastern suburbs, with the help of two accomplices in an operation lasting just ten minutes.

They used smoke bombs and angle grinders to overcome wardens in the facility's visiting room where Faid was talking to a brother.

In video captured inside the jail, inmates can be heard cheering as guards sprint through the prison grounds and a helicopter hovers overhead.

A huge manhunt, involving nearly 3,000 police officers was underway across France this morning. French Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet, who arrived at the prison in Reau last night, said the commandos most likely 'used drones to survey the location' beforehand.

It is the second time Faid has pulled off a spectacular jailbreak - in 2013, he blasted his way out of a prison in northern France using dynamite. He was recaptured six weeks later.

Footage has emerged showing the moment a notorious gangster pulled off a brazen jailbreak by fleeing from a prison near Paris in a hijacked helicopter

In video captured inside the jail, inmates can be heard cheering as guards sprint through the prison grounds and a helicopter hovers overhead. The escape operation lasted just 10 minutes, Delabroye said

It is the second time Faid (pictured) has pulled off a spectacular jailbreak - in 2013, he blasted his way out of a prison in northern France using dynamite. He was recaptured six weeks later

This morning a huge manhunt, involving nearly 3,000 police officers was underway across France as questions were raised about how such an escape was possible at what is considered one of the country's 'model penitentiaries'. Pictures show the helicopter said to have been used in the escape after it was abandoned

Police are pictured investigating a car abandoned by French armed robber Redoine Faid at O'Parinor shopping mall in Aulnay-sous-Bois, north of Paris

The helicopter - hijacked from a terrified flight instructor - landed at around 11.15am in the prison yard.

Guards did not open fire, fearing the aircraft would crash into prison buildings and because of the civilian pilot.

The two black-clad men armed with assault rifles set off smoke bombs before breaking their way into the prison's visitation room using the power tools.

Informed sources earlier said there were three accomplices. The wardens, who were unarmed, fled to safety and raised the alarm.

The accomplices went into the visitation room, reportedly armed with Kalashnikov rifles, and demanded Faid's release, BFM-TV reported.

A union representative told local media that the men were 'dressed in black and hooded' while wearing police armbands.

The helicopter was later found in Garges-lès-Gonesse, a northeastern suburb of Paris about 37 miles from the prison, one source said, adding that a manhunt has been launched across the entire Paris region.

Armed police stand by as investigators transport an Alouette II helicopter allegedly abandoned by French prisoner Redoine Faid to pull off a brazen prison break

A car abandoned by Faid is seen at O'Parinor shopping mall parking after his escape onboard a helicopter from a prison in Reau

A police source said the helicopter pilot was a flight instructor waiting for a student when he was seized by Faid's accomplices. He was forced to fly before being later freed in a state of shock.

The men apparently went on to use a car that was later found torched in a shopping mall carpark, police said.

The Ministry of the Interior said a huge police response has been ordered in an attempt to catch the fugitive, who has been described as dangerous.

'Everything is being done to locate the fugitive,' an official said.

Meanwhile, detectives fear Faid may attempt to disguise himself as an Orthodox Jew and head to Israel where he has often expressed his wish to settle.

He speaks Hebrew and – in an autobiography published in 2010 – told how disguising himself as an 'ultra-Orthodox Jew' was a perfect way of evading police.

They managed to whisk him away in a helicopter (pictured after it landed about 40 miles away) which had been flown into the prison courtyard

Three armed and well-trained men reportedly presented themselves at the prison (pictured in a file image) and demanded Faid's release

Investigators trasnport an Alouette II helicopter allegedly abandoned by French prisoner Redoine Faid and suspected accomplices after his escape from the prison of Reau

Faid said he had learnt firearms skills off an Israeli Defense Force soldier, and wanted to settle in the Middle East country.

It has become an increasingly popular destination for French criminals running away from justice and – following an escape in 2013 – Interpol was alerted that Faid was trying to get hold of forged documents to get him to Tel Aviv.

'Faid won't be able to stay on the run in Europe, but Israel may prove a lot easier,' said an investigating source in Paris.

'He 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.'

The escape came after an appeals court in April sentenced Faid to 25 years for masterminding a botched armed robbery in 2010 in which a policewoman was killed.

Faid has been behind bars since mid-2011 for breaking the terms of his parole over past convictions for bank robberies and brazen heists of cash-in-transit vehicles.

A union representative told local media that the men were 'dressed in black and hooded' while wearing police armbands. Pictured: The helicopter

In his 2013 jailbreak, he briefly took four guards hostage with a pistol before escaping in a waiting getaway car. All the hostages were released unharmed.

Faid was recaptured six weeks later at a hotel in an industrial area on the outskirts of Paris.

A woman working at the hotel told AFP at the time that Faid's accomplice had paid for the room in cash and that the two men had been there for several days.

Faid had earlier been released from a 10-year stint behind bars after convincing parole officers that he regretted his criminal past and was determined to start afresh.

Police nicknamed him 'The Author' for two books he co-wrote about his delinquent youth.

The aircraft landed in Garges-lès-Gonesse, about 37 miles from the prison. Pictured: The aircraft in a field after the escape

The men were picked up in a black Renault car before switching to a white van after landing the helicopter

It is the second time Faid has pulled off a spectacular jailbreak - in 2013, he blasted his way out of a prison (pictured at the time) in northern France using dynamite before being recaptured six weeks later

Faid, who has a cult following in the tough immigrant suburbs outside Paris where he grew up, has made several television appearances.

At a Paris film festival in April 2009, Faid approached Michael Mann, director of the 1995 gangster film 'Heat' starring Al Pacino and Robert Niro, telling him: 'You were my technical adviser.'

He wrote that he had watched the film dozens of times to perfect his bank-robbing prowess.

One of his prison supervisors said that Faid had never had any conflict with staff, 'but we must always be wary'.

'In the corner of his mind, he never lost the idea of escaping. Behind all his manners - he is very polite - he always hid his game,' the supervisor said.

Delabroye, the prison union rep, said the yard where the helicopter landed is the only area not equipped with anti-aircraft netting because inmates never use it - 'except to leave the prison'.