Serial Killer On Europe's Most Wanted List 'Spotted' In The Caribbean
Norman Volker Franz has been on the run since he escaped from prison for a second time in 1999
A criminal on Europe's most wanted list has allegedly been spotted in the Caribbean.
Norman Volker Franz is a 51-year-old from the North Rhine-Westphalia area of Germany, and he’s been on the run from the law ever since he broke out of prison back in 1999.
He was imprisoned for killing two people back in 1995, and has previously been involved with a crime gang that attacked banks, as well as being involved in smuggling and the trading of deadly weapons.
Franz was supposed to be enrolling in college for further education at the time of his crime, but wound up involved in an ambush after his criminal gang was blackmailed by their illegal cigarette suppliers.
He and three other men lured the Polish men into a trap before throwing a hand grenade into their vehicle.
Franz then tried to make a break for freedom, but was arrested at a toll booth as he tried to make it to France with his then-girlfriend.
He was sentenced to life in prison, but managed to escape for the first time on 11 March 1997 after sawing through the bars of his cell at JVA Hagen prison.
Five days later, he shot a bank security guard and stole a cash box with 10,000 Deustche Marks (£4,200) from the Dresdner Bank in the city of Weimar.
He also killed two more security guards carrying 500,000 Deutsche Marks (£214,000) four months later in the city of Halle.
At the time, a State Criminal Police Officer said: "The security guards had no chance. He planned to shoot straight away from the start."
Franz was then arrested in the Portuguese city of Albufeira in October 1998 where he had been working as an estate agent under an assumed name.
Once again, he escaped from prison in Lisbon by cutting through the cell bars and has been on the run ever since.
However, according to police he has recently been spotted on the Caribbean island of Curacao.
Investigators said: "A German tourist saw a man on the island in April who matched Norman Franz's description.
"He knows that he is not allowed to be near Germans. They might recognise him."
The lead investigator, who has been on Franz’s case for more than 14 years, said: "Franz is a polite, intelligent person. He can be very charming towards women.
"Franz wants to achieve his material goals, or get money in short. The use of funds is completely irrelevant to him.
"He's very, very dangerous."
The German Federal Criminal Police Office is offering a €25,000 (£20,920) reward to anyone with information that leads to his arrest.
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Tom Wood