KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — French serial killer Charles Sobhraj was released Friday in Nepal after serving most of his sentence for killing American and Canadian backpackers, and was transported to the airport for a flight to destination of Paris, indicated his lawyer.

Sobhraj confessed to murdering several western tourists. He is believed to have killed at least 20 people in Afghanistan, India, Thailand, Turkey, Nepal, Iran and Hong Kong in the 1970s. His 2004 conviction in Nepal was his first in court.

The murders were the subject of ‘The Serpent’, a BBC-Netflix co-production that aired last year. His nickname derives from his ability to disguise himself and escape.

The ticket was bought by a friend, and the French embassy in Kathmandu prepared travel documents for him to fly on Friday night, lawyer Gopal Siwakoti Chitan said.

A heavily guarded police motorcade took Sobhraj from Kathmandu Central Jail to the Immigration Department.

Sobhraj was serving a life sentence, but the Supreme Court ordered his release for poor health, good behavior and serving more than 75% of his sentence. The court said Sobhraj suffered from heart failure.

Life imprisonment in Nepal is 20 years.

The court also gave him 15 days to leave the country.

Previously, Sobhraj had been held for two decades in the maximum security Tihar prison in New Delhi on suspicion of theft, until he was deported to France without charge in 1997. He reappeared in September 2003 in Kathmandu .

French authorities have made no public statements regarding his return.