Monday February 28, 2024. The Val-des-Rougières district in Hyères is awakened a little after 5 a.m. by sirens and flashing lights. An apartment located on the second floor of a building is engulfed in flames.
The investigation by the organized and specialized crime division (DCOS) of Toulon will establish that the shadow of the DZ Mafia, this group of drug traffickers who reign by terror in Marseille, hangs over this arson.
Two people, including a minor, suspected of being directly involved in this episode have just been indicted in Toulon, Samuel Finielz, public prosecutor, announced this Friday.
A place to take in Hyères
At the time, the “Valdé” was the scene of an attempt to regain control of its deal point dismantled by the police after a “clearance” operation.
This is the start of a series of “coups de force” in Val-des-Rougières. On the evening of February 20, the first detonations broke out in the neighborhood. “ Several individuals in at least three vehicles fired several shots before fleeing, claiming control of the deal point on behalf of the DZ Mafia“, explains the prosecutor.
Two armed individuals were arrested immediately, after a chase in the streets of Hyères.
“There are gunshots every day, at all hours. We can’t take it anymore. Residents are confined to their homes. no one goes out anymore“, a representative of the residents was alarmed a few days later. On February 26, five Marseillais were arrested after new shots, this time affecting housing in building K.
A significant turnover
The situation pushes the prefect of Var to issue an unprecedented decree: “Any person residing in the Bouches-du-Rhône department and known to have a drug-related criminal record is prohibited from accessing, driving or parking on public roads in the municipalities of Hyères and Carqueiranne without legitimate reason..”
A disproportionate measure, will consider the summary judge of the Toulon administrative court seized by the Human Rights League, the Association for the Defense of Constitutional Freedoms and the Magistrates’ Union. The order will be suspended at the beginning of March.
In the meantime, the soldiers of the DZ Mafia are still unable to take control of the narcotics plan in Valdé, “ a big place” in terms of turnover, gauges an unofficial source.
Reluctant local traffickers
“ The resumption of the drug resale point was interrupted by the police presence on site and partially thwarted by a reaction from local traffickers who fired in their direction twice on February 26 and 27, 2024.“, indicates Samuel Finielz.
In retaliation, the Marseillais decided to go up a notch on the scale of violence. An individual sprays an apartment door with a flammable liquid and starts the fire.
The fire left at least one seriously injured and transported to the Sainte-Anne military hospital in Toulon. “ His body was three-quarters burned“, reports his lawyer, Me Jean-Baptiste Politano.
A stab
Driven by a desire for revenge, a member of the victim’s family found himself involved, the day after the events, in gang violence inflicted on Ahmed S.
This Marseillais was stabbed by another 19-year-old from Hyérois. He will go green to avoid having to suffer the wrath of the ultraviolent gang in the Marseille city. Defended by Me Lauris Leardo, he will escape a committal warrant at the end of his trial for “violence with weapons” in Toulon, on September 6.
Urban legend
The Marseille clan ultimately failed to gain a foothold in Hyères. No more than in Toulon or La Seyne. If “DZ Mafia” tags have appeared in recent days in the Berthe city, the police attribute them to young people from the neighborhood wanting to surf the urban legend.
“ Many people tend to claim this, but there is no branch of the DZ Mafia in the Var police districts. To date, there is no evidence to support this hypothesis.“, we assure both the police and the courthouse.
In the case of the attempted takeover of the “Valdé”, in addition to the two implicated in the arson, four people – including a minor – have been indicted in recent days. Seven other individuals, “ originating mainly from the Aubagne region“, had been in June. Most deny having a link with the “DZ”.
“ The investigations [on mis] evidence that the operation would have been ordered by a detainee (…) presented as an influential member of the DZ Mafia“. Recruitments and orders went through an encrypted messaging application.
