Arrested in March in Casablanca, the man is suspected of being the alleged leader of one of the main drug trafficking gangs in the Marseille city.
Félix Bingui, the alleged leader of one of the main drug trafficking gangs in Marseille, accepted his extradition to France on Tuesday, April 30, one of his lawyers told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Arrested in March in Morocco, he was heard during a hearing at the Rabat Court of Cassation as part of an investigation into drug trafficking and money laundering, said his lawyer, Philippe Ohayon.
“The person concerned has accepted his extradition for drug trafficking charges and intends to return to France as quickly as possible to defend himself,” Me Ohayon told AFP.
The procedure validated “next week”?
The procedure should be validated “next week” by the Court of Cassation and the extradition could take several months, he added.
Accused of being at the origin of a bloody drug trafficking war in France’s second city, Félix Bingui was the subject of an arrest warrant from a Marseille investigating judge for “importing drugs in gangs”. organized, transport, detention, acquisition, transfer of narcotics, criminal association (…) laundering and non-proof of resources”.
After his arrest on March 8 in Casablanca, the French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, welcomed “a major blow to drug banditry thanks to our cooperation with the Moroccan authorities.”
49 people killed in 2023
Félix Bingui, who spent his entire “career” in trafficking in Marseille, regularly traveled back and forth to Morocco until the outbreak, in February 2023, of a “war” with the rival “DZ Mafia” gang. , the moment from which he had no longer left this Maghreb country.
A turf war for control of juicy deal points – up to 80,000 euros in daily turnover in certain places – between the “Yoda” clan of Felix Bingui and the “DZ Mafia” group has bloodied the city of Marseille , especially last year.
The year 2023 was, in fact, the deadliest in Marseille with 49 people killed, including four collateral victims, and 123 injured, in violence linked to drug trafficking.
