in Nice, the fear of an importation of the DZ Mafia

DZ: two letters that have been sowing chaos in Marseille for months and, increasingly, in other major French cities. Drug trafficking, extortion, racketeering, arms trafficking, pimping… the DZ mafia is, as its name suggests, a vast criminal organization capable of striking (almost) everywhere, all the time. This is how at least one of its members found themselves this weekend at the heart of an anti-drug raid, in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), we learned on Monday Le Figaro from a police source.

Friday evening, at around 9 p.m., an armed group, hooded and gloved, was seen on foot in the maze of gray and dilapidated towers of the Bon Voyage district, in the northeast of the city, rue Charles-François Fenoglio de Briga. They transport bags from the back of the city to a deal point. Local residents, witnesses to the scene, then alerted the police. Agents from the Anti-Crime Brigade (BAC) arrived a few minutes later.

Drugs and big guns

Five individuals were arrested, including a young Chechen, two French people (specifically from Marseillais) and two Tunisians. Two of them are minors, the others aged between 20 and 26. A small quantity of narcotics was also discovered on the ground. The entire gang is placed in police custody as part of the opening of an investigation for “participation in a criminal association” and “offenses against drug legislation”. Investigations are entrusted to the local judicial police service (SLPJ 06).

The next morning, the comings and goings of a few individuals between a point of sale and a building made it possible to locate a nanny apartment, likely to house the drugs. A vast operation was then organized, involving investigators from the interdepartmental directorate (DIPN 06) and the Nice Raid personnel. In the common areas of the targeted building, three minors are “locked up”, including two from Marseille and one from Nice, all already known to the courts. During the search of the apartment, the two shopping bags seen the day before were found and several kilos of narcotics seized: 5.11 kilos of cannabis resin, 1.68 kilos of weed and 149 grams of cocaine, or around 80,000 euros. for resale.

At the foot of each window in the apartment as well as in front of the front door, heavy weapons are also discovered, ready for use. A 5.56 mm caliber AR15 assault rifle stocked with 24 rounds, a stocked and chambered shotgun and a 9 mm caliber pistol also ready to fire. On Sunday, extensions of police custody in the context of organized crime, allowing the total duration of hearings to be increased to 96 hours, were ordered by the judge of freedoms and detention at the request of the prosecution.

“It’s going to go away, it’s a matter of days”

“These arrests and seizures are clearly part of an action to take over the drug sales point located at 14 rue Charles-François Fenoglio de Briga”the Nice public prosecutor, Damien Martinelli, said on Monday. As a result of this investigation, 11 people were indicted, seven placed in pre-trial detention and four under judicial supervision. “The deal point had to be taken over by a head of the Ariane network (a neighboring city, Editor’s note)but he was unable to honor the contract. This is how the DZ Mafia saw an opportunity to import here”explains a source close to the matter.

The latter maintains that one of the Marseillais arrested this weekend is closely linked to the criminal organization of the Marseille city. “There is complicity among the people of Nice who help the DZ to settle in”continues the same source. She says she is very worried about the future: “It’s going to go away, it’s a matter of days”she summarizes. “In Marseille, pressure from the authorities is pushing the DZ to move abroad. We see it in Nîmes, Toulon, Montpellier, etc.”she adds.

“The Marseillais are at the heart of the action in this matter. Moreover, the four accused made the trip together to Nice”whispers an interlocutor on the floor. Before qualifying: “The DZ Mafia is such a nebula… There are possible adhesions with the suspects but that does not make them beachheads of the network. The DZ takes such a large part in drug trafficking that it is not surprising that some, in Nice as elsewhere, gravitate around it and claim responsibility for it.”