Boy ‘stabbed 50 times’, burned alive during suspected drug war in France | Drug news

Prosecutors say the murdered teenager in the city of Marseille was allegedly hired by a 23-year-old prisoner to intimidate a member of a rival gang.

A 15-year-old boy was stabbed “50 times” and burned alive in southern France earlier this week in an apparent case of drug-related violence that appeared to be linked to a second murder case, prosecutors in the city of Marseille said.

Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone told reporters on Sunday that the teenager was murdered on Wednesday, describing the case as “unprecedented cruelty”.

Marseille, France’s second largest city but also one of the poorest, has been plagued in recent years by drug-related violence described in French media as “narco-murder”.

The city has witnessed a turf war in recent years for control of the highly profitable drug market between several clans, including DZ Mafia.

According to Bessone, the murdered teenager had been hired by a 23-year-old inmate to intimidate a competitor by setting fire to his door, adding that he had been promised 2,000 euros ($2,200).

The newspaper L’Yonne Republicaine identified the mastermind as an inmate at the Aix-Luynes prison near Aix-en-Provence and a member of the DZ mafia group.

Before carrying out the attack, however, the armed teen was spotted by members of a rival gang, who then repeatedly stabbed and set him on fire, prosecutors said.

After his original plan failed following the teenager’s death, the same inmate in Luynes then recruited a second minor, a 14-year-old, to carry out a revenge attack and kill a member of the rival gang, promising to kill the boy to pay. 50,000 euros ($55,000).

After being ordered to carry out his mission, the teen and another person boarded a taxi to the location of the revenge attack. The teen then reportedly asked the unnamed 36-year-old driver to wait for him.

When the driver refused his request, the would-be teenage killer became enraged and shot the driver dead with a 357 Magnum revolver before fleeing, Le Monde newspaper reported.

The suspects and victims of the murders have not been named by the prosecutor.

The two latest cases bring the number of drug-related murders in Marseille this year to 17. In 2023, a total of 49 people were killed in drug-related violence in Marseille.

Bessone, the prosecutor, noted that the victims and perpetrators of the city’s recent violence were getting younger.