(Everyone wants their picture in the paper, right?)

Former MMA fighter turned bank robber Lee Murray was released from a Morrocan prison yesterday, only to be rearrested soon after and have his hopes crushed by the cruel humor of the gods.  Things seemed to be going well for Murray when a Moroccan court ruled that he was legally a citizen of Morocco and thus could not be extradited to stand trial for the robbery in England.  His release seemed even more surprising, considering he was allegedly caught trying to escape from jail a little over a week ago.  But his freedom didn’t last, as Moroccan authorities arrested him again after a British request to have him tried for the robbery in Morocco, under Moroccan law.  Murray’s lawyer said he expected the trial to start soon.

In case you missed it, Murray and a gang of of six other alleged thieves are said to have made off with around $92 million in the biggest cash heist in British history.  Murray was the only one to escape the British courts, but he was picked up in Morocco for cocaine possession and has since been locked up while they tried to sort through his citizenship and extradition status.  

When the court ruled that he was a citizen (Morocco doesn’t extradite its citizens, no matter what the crime) and released, it seemed like every criminal’s fairy tale was about to come true.  But British authorities immediately filed a formal request to have him tried for the crime in Morocco.  The Brits apparently wanted Murray so badly they offered to trade suspected terrorist Mohamed Karbouzi in exchange for getting their hands on the fighter.

Now Murray will be tried and, if convicted, sentenced under Moroccan law.  And we’re guessing they don’t deal lightly with bank robbers there.