Overview

• Authorities report seizures of about 55 kilograms of gold and roughly €2.5 million in cash during coordinated operations this month.
• Investigators estimate the network moved about €30 million between October 2024 and early September 2025.
• Cash collected in Marseille, Lyon and Paris was taken to Italy for conversion into gold in clandestine foundries near Milan before shipments to Turkey, Kosovo and Morocco.
• Seven suspects have been placed under formal investigation in France for aggravated drug-money laundering, with four arrests reported in Italy, while some outlets cite about 20 detentions mostly in France.
• Prosecutors cite links to Marseille’s DZ Mafia, a characterization that defense lawyers for some suspects dispute as premature.