The ultra-violent death of a minor teenager and that of a VTC driver, collateral victim of an attempted homicide, are at the heart of the clashes between gangs in Marseille to get their hands on the points of sale of drug.
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Two deaths in three days in Marseille. Sunday October 6, in front of the press, the public prosecutor Nicolas Bessone highlighted “unprecedented savagery”. for a story of revenge between members of rival clans. The 15-year-old minor brutally killed in the Félix-Pyat city on October 2, had been recruited on social networks by a detainee from Luynes, a member of the DZ Mafia gang, to take action against a rival. But at the foot of the building, the teenager was picked up by a gang who “stabbed with 50 stab wounds” et “burned alive”, according to details provided by Prosecutor Nicolas Bessone. Two days later, another 14-year-old minor was recruited by the same sponsor to assassinate a member of an opposing clan. The operation resulted in the death of a VTC driver. Two homicides which illustrate “the current conflict opposing, in the 3rd arrondissement of Marseille, the DZ Mafia and the Black clan of the Félix Pyat city, for the takeover of the deal point of the Moulin-de-Mai city.” France 3 Provence-Alpes takes stock of these deadly wars between rival gangs in the Marseille city.
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What are Félix-Pyat’s “Blacks”?
“It’s a team of young people of Comorian origin, who hold the deal point”, underlines an educator from the northern districts. According to him, this Félix-Pyat network has indeed “a hierarchy like all networks”, but these young traffickers are not very organized. “They clash with the young people from Moulin-de-Mai” to get your hands on this drug plan, in “perpetual war” which has been going on for about four years. On October 11, 2020, Sarah, a young woman of 19, was killed in a shooting at the entrance to the deal point, a collateral victim of this rivalry.
“The real problem is that they use weapons easily, it’s immediate violence, they are very disorganized, what makes them dangerous is that they are unpredictable,” he notes.
According to this observer, “the Félix-Pyat city has the highest concentration of Comorians in Marseille”hence their nickname “Blacks”, but they should not be confused with the historic clan of “Blacks” of the Ahamada brothers, from the city of Lauriers.
What are the Blacks of the Laurels?
This clan is led by the Ahamada brothers, Djoussouf, 42 years old, the “Senator” and Oukoutoub, 28 years old, known as “Beur”, a family of Comorian origin. The city of Lauriers in the 13th arrondissement is their stronghold. The Blacks became known from the spring of 2008 when the war broke out with the Gypsy clan of the Bengler brothers, from another city of the 13e for handling points of sale. The war between the two rival gangs has reportedly left nearly a hundred dead since 2008.
The Ahamada brothers were arrested in 2015 and tried in 2017, with the entire organizing chain of the Lauriers stups plan, where up to a thousand clients per day pass through for an annual turnover estimated at 15 million euros. For the prosecution, the money is laundered in the Comoros, where the father of the Ahamada brothers lives. At the end of 15 days of trial, the criminal court handed down 101 years in prison for the 27 defendants, 12 and 10 years for the two clan leaders.
What is the DZ Mafia?
If the sponsor involved in these two homicides claims to be from the DZ Mafia, he is not considered a leader of the criminal organization. But its recruitment method is reminiscent of that used by the clan since the wave of arrests in 2023 which weakened its numbers. The gang uses social networks to hire a workforce, often very young and from outside Marseille, attracted by the lure of profit.
The acronym DZ refers to people from Algeria. The clan was created in La Paternelle, in the 14th arrondissement, by Mehdi Abdelatif Laribi known as “Tic”, who would develop vast traffic between France and Spain. The man left Marseille and is currently wanted.
In 2023, this clan was responsible for a significant part of the homicides perpetrated in Marseille. According to the accounts of the public prosecutor, Nicolas Bessone, of the 47 “narchomicides” recorded in 2023, “34 are attributable to DZ Mafia and 24 to Yoda.
>>> Also read: MAP. Drug trafficking in Marseille: the settling of scores moves from the northern districts to the city center
What is Yoda?
The Yoda clan, also from La Paternal, takes its name from the universe of the Star Wars saga. For several years, Yoda and DZ shared the cake between them before relations became strained, leading to one of the bloodiest wars that Marseille has known.
Its leader, Félix Bingui, alias “the Cat”, a Franco-Central African, born in Ales in the Gard, rose through the ranks of drug trafficking in Marseille, after having gained experience in burglaries. His arrest, on March 8, 2024 in Morocco where he had fled, dealt a big blow to the already weakened gang, leaving the field open to his sworn enemy.
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