(CNN) — Charles Sobhraj, the infamous French serial killer who inspired the award-winning TV series ‘The Serpent’, was released from a Nepalese prison on Friday.

“Sobhraj has been released from prison. He has been handed over to the immigration service. The immigration service officials informed us that he will soon be sent back to France today,” Ishwari Prasad told CNN. Pandey, a central prison officer in Nepal.

Charles Sobhraj is escorted by Nepalese police to a district court for a hearing in a case involving the murder of Canadian backpacker Laurent Ormond Carriere, in Bhaktapur on June 12, 2014. Credit: Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images

Sobhraj, 78, was serving a life sentence in Nepal for the murders of two tourists in 1975, but many of his alleged murders remain unsolved.

He was released after Nepal’s highest court ordered his release on Wednesday on grounds of age and health. He suffers from a heart condition and needs open-heart surgery, according to the court.

Local officials said they were planning Sobhraj’s immediate eviction, which could take place as early as Friday.

“We are working to collect all the necessary travel documents to deport Sobhraj to France,” Pradarshani Kumari, acting director general of Nepal’s immigration department, told CNN, adding that “it could happen today (Friday). ), it could take a few days”. .

Sobhraj outside the Kathmandu District Court on September 22, 2003. Credit: Devendra M Singh/AFP/Getty Images

“The court order is to send him back to his home country within 15 days. We are working on his deportation based on that time frame. He will remain under the supervision of the Nepalese government until he departs by plane. We are working with the Ministry of Interior to ensure their safety,” Kumari added.

The official said the department is in close contact with the French Embassy in Kathmandu.

Born in Saigon, Vietnam, under French administration, Sobhraj was first imprisoned in Paris in 1963 for theft, but was later accused of committing crimes in a list of countries: France, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Thailand and Malaysia.

He also escaped from prison in several countries, and his propensity to evade authorities earned him the nickname “The Serpent”.

According to his biographers, Sobhraj went on to admit to at least 12 murders between 1972 and 1976, and hinted at others to investigators before recanting before appearing in court. The actual number of victims is unknown.

In 2014, a Nepalese court sentenced Sobhraj to 20 years in prison for the 1975 murder of Canadian tourist Laurent Carrière.

The 2021 BBC and Netflix drama titled “The Serpent” is based on the story of the alleged murders of Sobhraj. He recounts how for years he evaded the law in Asia as he allegedly drugged, robbed and murdered backpackers on the so-called ‘hippie trail’ while former Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg collaborated with the authorities to capture it.