Who are the “baby killers” in the pay of criminal networks?

This is a phenomenon that judicial police investigators are observing with concern. For four years, the police have noted a significant increase in the number of “narchomicides”. “More than 90% of cases of assassinations or attempted assassinations can be explained by disputes between drug traffickers,” explains 20 Minutes Yann Sourisseau, head of the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime (Oclco).

In this war between competing networks, 42 people have been killed since the start of the year in France. A decreasing figure, compared to the first six months of 2023, which was a “particularly criminogenic” year. But an increase of 22% compared to the year 2022 and 32% compared to the year 2021. The victims are on average 25 years old, the perpetrators 24.

In recent years, the police have noticed a change in method. “Previously, the perpetrators were most often the drug traffickers themselves. Today, the latter are increasingly subcontracting this task to teams of young hitmen. These are young people under the age of 25, common law delinquents, who have never been suspected of having committed crimes as part of an organized gang. They are recruited by a sponsor they do not know, solely to kidnap, kidnap, or kill victims they do not know either,” notes Yann Sourisseau.

“They exploit the vulnerabilities of the youngest”

They act, he explains, “in small groups of three to six people, are very mobile”. “Motivated by the lure of profit, they are capable of acting everywhere in France and abroad. The sponsor provides them, via intermediaries, with the necessary logistics: “conspiratory” accommodation, weapons, a vehicle… These are completely dehumanized young people, who have no empathy, who no longer have any points of reference. They are dangerous criminals, capable of reoffending on multiple occasions. »

Who are they, these teenagers hired as hitmen? Philippe Pujol knows them well. The journalist, who worked for a long time at The Marseillaisehas devoted several books to the drug trafficking which plagues the neighborhoods of the Marseille city. A meticulous and documented work, rewarded with the prestigious Albert Londres prize in 2014. His latest work, Burnt, the monster’s children*, tells the fate of these young people crushed by networks that exploit their “vulnerabilities”.

“Between 2010 and 2015”, the bosses began to “delegate” certain tasks, those where “we take the most risks such as sales at the point of deal”, to the “small ones”. “The aim of the game is for one person to take as many as possible. It’s an ultra-capitalist way of doing things. It is also about paying as little as possible to those who are below you and ensuring that they do not become your competitor tomorrow. To do this, they exploit the vulnerabilities of the youngest. »

152 victims under 20 years old

The network heads will take advantage of the “appetite for violence” of these adolescents with fragile mental health, fuel it by giving them coke, “valorize” them when they commit certain things for them. And make some “killer babies”. “They will transform small neuroses into pathology,” emphasizes Philippe Pujol. Above all, these young people, who dream of a fortune that they will never touch, will very quickly find themselves under the influence of these leaders who pay them at the beginning and supply them with drugs. “They find themselves in debt and many become slaves. Some will become executioners. If they come across a dingo, they will make him believe that they will give him 50,000 euros to commit an assassination, but they know that the kid will be caught. The advantage for dealers of having these young people is that they get caught or killed very quickly, and they are out of the loop very quickly. It’s not organized banditry, it’s something totally chaotic. »

In 2023, 152 victims recorded by the police were under 20 years old. The head of Oclco nevertheless assures that the investigative work making it possible to “dismantle networks” has “effects” on the number of settling of scores. Last year, 241 people were accused and imprisoned. Among them, sixteen minors under 15 years old, four under 16 years old and nine under 17 years old. “Intelligence is essential,” emphasizes Yann Sourisseau. We must know who we are fighting against, know the criminals, their projects, their disputes, their means of action. All this allows us to monitor them more effectively and challenge them, before they act or just after. The judicial police mobilize a huge number of resources to be as effective as possible. »

*“Cramés, the children of the monster”, by Philippe Pujol, Julliard editions, published September 5, 2024, 224 pages, 19.90 euros.

source site

Related Articles