Certainly one of France’s most wished suspected drug traffickers was due in court docket in Marseille after his extradition from Morocco.
Félix Bingui, often known as “the Cat” and reportedly head of the infamous Yoda clan, was arrested in Casablanca final March.
France’s justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, hailed the extradition of the 34-year-old as a “victory towards narco-crime”.
Based mostly in Marseille’s northern suburbs, the Yoda clan was instantly linked to 35 of 49 drug-related assassinations within the metropolis in 2023, most of which associated to a settling of scores with one other gang known as DZ Mafia. The warfare is believed to have began in February 2023 in a Thai nightclub when Bingui tipped a bowl of ice over a number one member of DZ Mafia.
Three months later, Bingui’s brother-in-law Omar, nicknamed “Scar”, was assassinated in Spain.
France’s Anti-Drug Workplace (Ofast) traced Bingui to Morocco the place he was arrested and made the topic of an extradition request that the Rabat authorities authorised final April. He agreed to be despatched again and was returned on Wednesday.
Bingui was as a consequence of seem earlier than a choose on a number of costs together with “importing medicine as a part of a legal organisation, cash laundering and the non declaration of sources”.
His lawyer Philippe Ohayon informed Le Parisien he hoped “the magistrates chargeable for the case [would] method the topic with serenity and full independence, whereas respecting the rights of the defence”.
Emmanuel Macron visited one of many worst affected estates in northern Marseille, La Castellane, final March as a part of a 24-hour operation towards drug gangs that resulted in 82 arrests. The president subsequently introduced 4,000 police and gendarmes could be mobilised for a three-week crackdown.
On Tuesday, the Marseille police prefect, Pierre-Edouard Colliex, and town’s prosecutor, Nicolas Bessone, introduced their newest report on crime figures. In 2024, greater than 2,000 suspects have been indicted on drug-related offences, of whom 833 have been positioned in pre-trial detention. They mentioned a number of gunmen have been arrested earlier than they may perform shootings.
Not less than 100 cops have been injured in drug-related incidents and greater than €40m (£34m) in legal belongings and cash was seized.
Nonetheless, the variety of drug-trafficking deaths dropped to 24 final 12 months from 49 in 2023.
Ministers have made tackling drug-related crime a precedence. Senators will subsequent week study a cross-party legislation geared toward decreasing the offences, together with the creation of a devoted nationwide prosecutor.
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