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Ten Detained in Marseille Contract Killing Probe

The case underscores a widening crackdown on Marseille’s DZ Mafia by newly empowered prosecutors.

Overview

  • Investigators in southern France detained ten people over the contract-style killing of 20-year-old Mehdi Kessaci, the brother of anti-drug activist Amine Kessaci, in Marseille.
  • The new organized-crime prosecutor said the group is under investigation for gang-related murder and criminal-organization membership.
  • Press reports link the suspects to the DZ Mafia, a powerful drug network, and say they include eight men and two women in their early twenties.
  • The arrests follow a broader push that saw 42 people held two weeks earlier and, on Monday, a trial open in Aix-en-Provence for three alleged DZ Mafia leaders.
  • Officials described the shooting as an intimidation act as President Emmanuel Macron held a crisis meeting and thousands in Marseille marched against drug violence.