Paris, France - Charles Sobhraj, a notorious serial killer known as the Serpent who had been serving a life sentence in Nepal since 2003 for the murder of an American and a Canadian tourist, has been deported to his native France, according to Nepali officials.

Now 78, Sobhraj was sent home on a Qatar Airways flight with a transit in Doha from the Tribhuvan International Airport on Friday, just hours after being released from a prison in Kathmandu, per Pradarshani Kumari, acting chief of the immigration department.

"He has been deported today and also barred from entering into Nepal for 10 years as the per immigration rules," Kumari told dpa.

Sobhraj's deportation came two days after Nepal's Supreme Court ordered his release a year prior to the completion of his jail term. It cited Sobhraj's advanced age, good behavior, and failing health in its decision, court spokesperson Bimal Paudel told DPA.

Nicknamed the Bikini Killer for targeting young women – and the Serpent for his deceptive nature and track record for escaping from high security prisons – Sobhraj's life has inspired several books and movies, including the Netflix show The Serpent.

Sobhraj has been linked to several high profile killings across Asia in the 1970s and 1980s. Before his arrest in Nepal in 2003, he had spent around two decades in jail in India.