In Marseille, the public prosecutor, Nicolas Bessone, held a press conference this Saturday, December 7 to announce a major raid against the DZ Mafia criminal group, very influential in the region. Eight cases have led to the arrest of 119 people linked to this large criminal group in two months, but it highlights worrying developments on the part of these drug traffickers.
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With our correspondent in Marseille,
In a meeting room, perched at the top of the Marseille courthouse, the prosecutor, Nicolas Bessone, can be satisfied: it is a huge dragnet that the interdepartmental service of the judicial police and the Marseille investigators have carried out, in partnership with the Montpellier services.
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One hundred and nineteen individuals have been arrested, including more than a hundred people indicted since October 1, all directly or indirectly linked to the DZ Mafia drug trafficking gang. There are small hands, but also those responsible, which makes it possible to highlight an entire chain of responsibility linked to various matters.
New methods
Two investigations provide a better understanding of the latest developments in the DZ Mafia. The rapper SCH, whose real name is Julien Schwarzer, had been facing death threats from the DZ Mafia for four months when one of his vehicles was targeted in La Grande-Motte, near Montpellier , on August 26, 2024, leaving one dead and one injured among his relatives. “ Heard by the investigating services, Julien Schwarzer explained that he had been the subject of extortion attempts for around a year (…) and that he had always refused to make any payment. », Relates the Marseille prosecutor, Nicolas Bessone.
However, extortion is a new modus operandi for the DZ Mafia, recalls the prosecutor. “ These criminal organizations, usually confined to drug trafficking activities, extend their activities to activities usually devolved to the middle [criminel, NDLR] traditional “.
Like more traditional criminal gangs, we also find control over businesses. Thus, the prosecutor indicates that a nightclub owner and manager of a Subway restaurant had to flee the Marseille region after serious threats from the DZ Mafia. She extorted 10,000 euros from him out of 300,000 euros requested and tried to install her security service in a nightclub in Cabriès, in Provence.
Projection capacity
Another cause for concern is the projection capacity of the Marseille DZ Mafia, which is trying to assassinate SCH even in Hérault. But this is not new, recalls the prosecutor: “ We have known since last year that the group had the capacity to project itself into foreign countries, such as Spain, to commit a certain number of homicides. »
With this dragnet, the prosecutor hopes to have weakened the criminal group a little, but he remains lucid: “ the problems will not be solved tomorrow morning “. The proof? Again this weekend, Marseille justice indicated that the DZ Mafia had put a price on the heads of the director of the Baumettes prison and her deputy. Two people aged 17 and 21 were arrested while trying to execute this contract, which was posted on social networks.
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