nine arrests, seizure of weapons and thousands of ammunition
A major blow has been dealt to narcobanditry in Marseille with nine arrests and a seizure of 18 weapons and more than 3,000 ammunition in one of the deal points belonging to the local “top 5”.
“These seizures are significant of the dangerousness of this team (of traffickers) which one can legitimately think is about to accept violent actions”, explained the public prosecutor of Marseille, Dominique Laurens, during a press conference.
Nine people, some of whom are from the same family, aged between 20 and 30 and known to the courts, were arrested on Monday and Tuesday. Seven were detained for “drug trafficking and criminal association”, one placed on remand and three others in the process of being, she detailed.
About twenty kilos of cannabis resin, nearly 10,000 euros in cash but above all 18 weapons including seven Kalashnikov-type assault rifles, were discovered in a cellar of a building in the city center (5th arrondissement) with 3,000 ammunition including 1,500 to supply the Kalashnikovs.
The investigation had started after the access of violence which had known the districts of the north of Marseilles last summer, in particular within the framework of a conflict between the “plans stups” of the cities Bassens and La Paternelle.
After months of surveillance, the investigators succeeded in identifying the leaders of the network based in Bassens.
They also noticed “the expensive and disproportionate lifestyle of the main suspect”, with investments in two companies created in February 2022, a vehicle trade and a bakery not yet open.
Deal points in Marseille can report traffickers between 10,000 and 80,000 euros per day, according to the police. Bassens is in the “top 5 of the most lucrative with certainly a turnover of several tens of thousands of euros”, indicated Eric Arella, the director of the South zone of the judicial police.
DNA and ballistic analyzes on the weapons seized could also perhaps elucidate certain settling of accounts in recent months.
In 2021, the prosecution of the second city of France classified “36 intentional homicides or attempted intentional homicides” in the context of cases of organized crime and drug trafficking.