Drug-related gang murders have rocked the French city of Marseille

The French city of Marseille, which has long struggled with organized crime and drug-related violence, has been rocked by two gruesome murders involving teenagers: a 14-year-old killed a taxi driver during a revenge mission for the murder of a 15-year-old. birthday, on Monday, October 7, reports the BBC.

With the latest two murders, the number of drug-related murders in Marseille has risen to 17 since the beginning of 2024.

Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone has warned that drug lords are recruiting young boys to kill “without remorse”. He said the “unprecedented brutality” of the 15-year-old’s killing was linked to that

disagreements between two gangs known as the “DZ Mafia” and the “Blacks”.

According to prosecutors, one of the DZ mafia members, who is currently in prison, hired the 15-year-old boy for 2,000 euros to “intimidate” a rival by setting his door on fire. The teenager was spotted and searched by rival members of the Blacks gang, who then stabbed and set him on fire after finding a gun.

“He was stabbed fifty times and taken to the Fonscolombes residential area, where he was burned alive,” Bessone said. His friend, also a 15-year-old, managed to escape.

Two days later, the captured DZ mafia member hired a 14-year-old youth through social media to take revenge and promised to pay him 50,000 euros.

But before he reached his goal, the boy shot and killed 36-year-old taxi driver Nessim Ramdane because he refused to wait for him while he did the job, Bessone said.

The inmate, who had hired the teen, then called the police to extradite him. The teen was taken into custody and admitted to shooting the driver, but insisted the shot was “accidental.”

Prosecutor Franck Rastoul has warned of drug-related violence, saying the young people were “intoxicated by easy drug money” to the point of “total disregard for human life”.

In March, French police in Marseille carried out a large-scale operation against drug money and weapons in the crime-ridden city, leading to the arrest of 627 people, the seizure of 450kg of cannabis, 19 weapons and 1.6 million euros in cash. .

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