Tuesday, December 17, a 20-year-old young man was shot dead in Aix-en-Provence, against a backdrop of drug trafficking. In this town in Bouches-du-Rhône, drug trafficking is becoming more and more important and is harming the good life of the inhabitants.
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“The neighborhood is getting darker and darker”. Jimmy Kada is the manager of a bar in Encagnane, in Aix-en-Provence. For several years, he has helplessly witnessed the rise in insecurity, with the development of a network of drug traffickers.
“There are drug dealers, there are drug buyers. It can start from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m., behind, on the square, on the small walls, on the stairs”describes the manager who observes the actions from the window of his bar.
He remembers this Thursday, April 20, when he heard bullets riddle his establishment around 10 p.m. “It was an evening when people were on the terrace a bit. We had a few people. I was outside for the first time”explains Jimmy, his throat tight.
“I heard muffled noises. At first, I thought they were firecrackers and then finally they were Kalashnikov shots”adds the panicked man who ended up throwing himself to the ground. That day, the attackers injured 4 people, including a 17-year-old minor.
On April 20, 2023, a shooting took place in Encagnane in Aix-en-Provence, terrorizing residents of the neighborhood ever since.
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© FTV
Since then, the neighborhood has suffered from its bad reputation. “You know, it’s funny to have bullets shot at you. You only see that in the movies”underlines Jimmy, who works in fear of one day dying because of one of them. “Guys, they come with Kalashnikovs and they shoot anything and anyone”adds the old man, who no longer recognizes his once peaceful neighborhood. Today, he regularly hears shots in the air, on the shutters…
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The Encagnane district in Aix-en-Provence has become a deal point for the DZ Mafia, a drug trafficking group widely established in the northern districts of Marseille.
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©FTV
So much so that he admits: “I’m going to leave the neighborhood if this continues”. Because in Encagagne, the streets are deserted after 6 p.m. Older people fear going out. Only lookouts now venture into the neighborhood, despite the strengthening of police surveillance.
“It creates a bad atmosphere and it creates huge problems for me in terms of my business because revenues are falling more and more. Between the charges, the gas, the electricity and the customers who no longer come, I don’t know if I will resist”worries the merchant who has lost between 30 and 40% of his turnover since 2023. His neighbors at the driving school and the PMU have had to go out of business.
“We see that there is endemic violence among young people and drug traffickers,” says the mayor of Aix-en-Provence, Sophie Joissains, while a 20-year-old young man was shot and killed this Tuesday, December 17. The latter was shot in the neck during a drug transaction near avenue Philippe Solari and the Bellevue residence, located in the north of Aix-en-Provence, near a deal point.
“Aix-en-Provence is not far from Marseille, a port city. There is therefore a significant passage of narcotics”explains Bruno Bartocetti, delegate for the South zone of the SGP Police Unit union, specifying that it is difficult to control the contents of all the containers arriving at the port (only 2% are controlled).
In addition, for almost two years, the DZ Mafia has taken over the narcotics points in the city. And from less than 10 places of exchange at the start, the drug trafficking group was able to extend its activities to more than ten points.
“It should also be noted that the methodology among resellers has changed. Since covid, it is now the sellers who are on the move”explains the police officer who has had to, over the years, extend the grid of the deal zones, the sellers being more mobile.
Opposition MP Marc Pena spoke the day after the young man's death. “This loss of life is unacceptable and underlines the urgency of acting against the scourge of drug trafficking which is plaguing our youth”he declared.
“We must act on all fronts, repression, prevention and reintegration. We cannot afford to wait any longer”he concluded, recommending the strengthening of police and justice resources to fight against trafficking networks, the intensification of prevention programs especially among young people and the development of reintegration policies for drug addicts. .
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