( CNN ) -- French gangster Redoine Faid , the subject of an international manhunt after his brazen escape from a prison last month , is back in custody , the country 's Interior Ministry said Wednesday . Faid held five people , including four guards , at gunpoint at a detention center in the northern city of Lille on April 13 , officials said . He then burst his way to freedom , detonating explosives to destroy five doors . Early Wednesday , French police arrested Faid , labeled France 's `` public enemy No . 1 , '' at a hotel in the Seine-et-Marne region to the east of Paris , the ministry said . Between 70 and 80 police officers took part in the predawn raid , Lille prosecutor Frederic Fevre told reporters . Faid was asleep and offered no resistance when police entered his hotel room . An accomplice was with him in the room and has been taken into custody , Fevre said . Police found one firearm in the room and another in a car parked nearby . During his six weeks on the run , Faid had worn a wig and let his beard grow in order not to be recognized , Fevre said . He 'd changed location frequently but has connections in the area where he was caught , the prosecutor said . `` When you are on the run , you need a lot of money and you need to separate yourself from all your close relatives , '' said Fevre . He suggested Faid had failed to meet one or both of these requirements . As well as the jailbreak , Faid is suspected in the murder of a policewoman in 2010 and faces a possible life sentence , Fevre said . However , he wo n't go back to the Sequedin prison from which he made his audacious escape , Fevre said . The four guards Redoine took hostage in April are still on medical leave , he added . Inspired by the movies . Faid fashioned himself as a modern-day gangster . He thought big -- getting inspiration from the movies , as when he wore a hockey mask like Robert DeNiro 's character in `` Heat '' -- and acted boldly , attacking armored trucks among other targets . In his 2010 autobiography , `` Robber : From Suburbs to Organized Crime , '' Faid chronicled his progression from a petty thief to one of France 's most notorious criminals . In 1998 , after three years on the run during which he fled to Switzerland , Faid was finally caught . Sentenced to 20 years , he ended up spending more than 10 years in high-security prisons around France . After getting out , Faid put himself out there -- not only with his book , but as the subject of numerous interviews . The Frenchman insisted he 'd sworn off his wicked ways . This promise did n't last for long . In 2011 , Faid landed back behind bars . There he stayed until his dramatic escape last month . Authorities issued a European arrest warrant covering 26 countries , and Interpol worked to track him down as well . On Wednesday , that hunt came to an end . CNN 's Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report .
NEW : Faid grew a beard and wore a wig while on the run , he says . He spent more than 10 years in prison , insisted he 'd changed , then was arrested again . He held police at gunpoint and used explosives to break through a prison 's doors last month . Police issued a European arrest warrant covering five countries .