crime
Feared Marseille drug lord arrested
Drug trafficking center in the Maison-Blanche residential project in the north of Marseille. Drug gangs dominate entire neighborhoods in Marseille and there are regular fatal cases. photo
© Nicolas Tucat/AFP/dpa
Rival drug gangs are currently fighting each other in France’s second largest city. Deadly clashes occur again and again. Now one of the leaders has been arrested in Morocco.
A drug lord who has been wanted for months Marseille was arrested in Morocco. “Thanks to our cooperation with the Moroccan authorities, whom I thank, a serious blow has been dealt today to drug banditry,” France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.
The man had been wanted by Interpol for months and is considered a key player in the Marseille drug war, as the television station BFMTV reported. He is said to be the suspected leader of one of the rival gangs. The 33-year-old faces ten years in prison for, among other things, money laundering, importing and trafficking in narcotics and membership in a criminal gang.
Drug gangs dominate entire neighborhoods in France’s second-largest city, and there are regular deadly cases. Accidental victims are not uncommon. Last year, 49 people died in drug-related disputes in Marseille, significantly more than in previous years.